Total Divergence
by TotalDramaObsessiveFanGirl9
Summary: Dawn is Amity born, Amity raised, and she would never want to live in any other Faction. When she takes the aptitude test to determine which of the five Factions, Abnegation, the selfless, Amity, the peaceful, Candor, the honest, Dauntless, and Erudite, the intelligent, she is left with more than one resulting Faction. She is labeled as a threat to society. She is Divergent.
1. Chapter 1: The Test--And The Results

**I told myself I wouldn't do a Total Drama/Hunger Games crossover… so here's a **_**Divergent **_**one instead. This will not follow the original events of the book, since Dauntless will not be chosen—and would probably be this character's last choice. This will probably not include many TV couples, but they won't be all crack couples, either. The ages may be different, too. It'll all make sense eventually**. **This is, of course, AU in both series (neither **_**Divergent**_** nor Total Drama ever happened).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series**

**oOoOo**

Total Divergent

Chapter One

**oOoOo**

I opened my eyes to sun streaming in through the greenhouse walls. I had been meditating again. It was so easy for my mind to drift here, within the Amity compound—or anywhere in the Amity sector in the city. It is always so peaceful, but that should not be so surprising considering that Amity is the Faction that encourages peace.

The four other Factions of our city are Abnegation, the selfless, Candor, the honest, Dauntless, the brave, and Erudite, the intelligent. I believe that each Faction is wonderful in their own way, but I really do love living in Amity. We celebrate nature here, and there is no fighting, which I find beautiful. Surely, if I was born in any other Faction, I would not be as happy as I am here.

See, I have a special gift: I am more in tune with nature than most others, meaning I can connect in a much deeper way. In short—I can read auras. Undoubtedly I would be endlessly made fun of in any other Faction (other than Abnegation, of course. Though I would have to hide it, since any form of curiosity is discouraged, I have heard), but here I am accepted for who I am. No need to hide.

Many people know I can read auras, and they frequently stop by my home for readings. Nobody judges anyone here, so they are never afraid of what I may tell them. I stand up from the ground and brush my light yellow jeans off. As I turn to exit the greenhouse, I am fully content and my mind is at rest.

I would not want to live in any other Faction.

oOoOo

Today, I am nervous. It is the day for sixteen-year-olds in every Faction to take the aptitude test, a simulation which will determine which Faction we are best suited for. I know my result will be Amity, but I am still nervous.

I go to school, one of the only times our Factions really intermingle. I notice that the auras of nearly every student is tinged with gray, a sign of anxiety. Surely, mine is too.

Walking down the hallway to school, my mind is swimming with irrational thoughts. I think about failing the test, if one can even fail, and what result I will end with. I'm sure my result will be Amity.

While I'm thinking, I don't notice the Dauntless arrive until I hear the pounding of their feet from down the hallway. I pick up my pace just a little. I would be lying if I said I was not afraid of them at all. Yes, I believe that bravery is a beautiful thing, but I've heard what they do—jumping off of trains, buildings, and who knows what else. The boy leading them has a green Mohawk, with piercing blue eyes. Undoubtedly he will choose Dauntless. A slight Candor girl with short dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes stops and watches them run by her. She sighs longingly as I make a turn up ahead to get out of their way, and let them pass.

I turn around to go back to the hall that my first class is in, but I turn too quickly and bump right into an Abnegation who was near me. Our books go tumbling down and she hurries to pick up both of ours.

"No, no you do not have to do that. It's alright." I reassure her. "I'm sorry for bumping into you."

She looks at me with big brown eyes. Her hair is cut short and a strawberry-blonde color. I can't help but notice the boldness in her aura, and think that there is no way she will choose to be Abnegation for the rest of her life.

"No, I should've watched where I was going." She flashes me an apologetic smile before turning away. I could see in her face she wanted to talk more, but the Abnegation standards discourage curiosity, they believe it is selfish.

"Wait!" I call out. She turns back to me. "What's your name?"

"Zoey."

"It was nice meeting you, Zoey. I am Dawn." I respond. "We shouldn't be late. I should go. Good luck on the test." I start to walk away, but she comes up to me and grabs my arm.

Zoey speaks quickly and quietly to me. "How is Amity? Is it as great as I've heard? Should I choose it? What will my family think if I leave?"

"Zoey," I look in her eyes reassuringly. "I can tell you want to leave Abnegation. It will be okay. Your parents will understand. Now I really do have to go!"

By the time I get called to take the test, I am slightly nauseous. I ignore it, however, and walk to the testing room, fidgeting with the collar on my yellow button-down shirt. As usual, there is an Abnegation waiting to test me, in a room full of mirrors and reflective surfaces.

She has light-brown eyes and a kind smile, similar to the Amity. She may have been one, once, although her aura is as quiet and unassuming as her loose-fitting clothes, and she professionally averts her eyes from her own reflection. She is where she belongs.

"Dawn Wintergreen?"

"Yes."

"Have a seat, dear." She motions to a metal reclining chair with a monitor beside it.

I sit down in the chair and she walks over to me with a small glass of clear liquid. I instinctually know it isn't water, and I look at her expectantly.

"It's a simulation serum. So I can see what you do during the test. Drink it." She gently nudges my arm holding the glass as she attaches wires to my head. "I'm sure you will get Amity, Ms. Wintergreen." As I read her, I can tell that what she just said is only mandatory. I cannot tell whether she really means it or not.

I do not have much time to consider it, though, as I tip the liquid into my mouth before I think too much.

_**As I open my eyes, I see that I am in the same room as before, but it is empty. I turn around, and see a table with a long knife on one side and a block of cheese on the other. **_

"_**Choose," a stern voice commands. I cannot see where the voice is coming from, and it seems to have been disguised as to whether it is male or female.**_

_**I think for a moment. Knife. Knife means protection, or a weapon. Conflict. Death. I want to avoid that. Then I think of the cheese. The only use I can think of is food for something.**_

"_**Choose." The word is repeated again, more severe this time. I take the cheese, and the table disappears.**_

_**A door opens up at the end of the room. A fierce-looking dog comes out, growling. I am not afraid. I know what it wants, and I am so glad that I didn't take the knife. I toss a bit of cheese towards it. It perked up and scarfed it down like it had not eaten in days. I gave the rest to it. It came over to me and licked my cheek. I responded with a pat on its head. **_

_**Then, a little girl walked in the door. The dog turned to look at her, and I could feel the snap in its aura. It was going to attack her, but I would not let it. I run in front of it, picking up a few pieces of cheese that it had ignored. I throw them to the girl so she can give them to the dog. She catches them. She holds them out to the dog, and it transforms again. It is back to a happy, friendly dog and the girl is no longer in danger. **_

_**I blink, and I am on a city bus. I personally have never been on one, as the Amity prefers foot travel which doesn't pollute the air like the bus does. A man keeps staring at me, holding a newspaper, and then speaks to me.**_

"_**Do you know this person?" he asks me, pointing to a picture of a man in the paper.**_

_**I do know them, but I do not know where from. I shouldn't tell him. I can't, because if I do, then the man in the paper will get hurt, somehow. I really shouldn't tell him. "No, I'm sorry. I do not know him." I answer.**_

"_**But if you did, you could save me! You could save me!" he says desperately.**_

_**I can tell he is lying. Not just because of his aura, but his body language. Imperceptibly—to anyone else, at least—there is something odd about his movements. **_

_**I take a breath and steal myself. "No, I cannot save you. There is no way to save you." **_

"No, no, not possible… not possible." I wake with a start to see my instructor messing with the monitor and muttering to herself. I sense fear and a note of panic in her voice.

"Excuse me, but what happened? What's wrong?" I ask her, with a sinking feeling in my stomach. "What is my result?"

She stiffened up. "You got Amity." I breathed a short sigh of relief, but realized that there was something she was not telling me.

"What aren't you telling me? I can tell you are hiding something, please."

"…And that is why you also got Candor." My mouth dropped open.

"And… Erudite. You got three results." She was visibly struggling to get out the words.

"H-how?" I say in complete shock. I had never heard of this before. What is going on?

"Well, when you took your time analyzing the knife and cheese, you showed Erudite traits. You didn't choose the knife or attack the dog, which ruled out Dauntless. When you chose cheese, and continued to use it, you showed yourself as Amity. And the way you could read that man on the train… it could only be Candor. You are the only person ever to call him out as a liar. The Candor almost always say they know the man in the paper, but they don't catch that the other man is lying. And throughout the test, you showed yourself as too bold to end with Abnegation." She explains, as I see her skin grow pale. "Besides that, I have no idea how you managed to end up with three results. The only way to get three is to deny picking something…" She trails off.

"What is the point of explaining this?" I ask, truly afraid for once.

"You are dangerous to the system of our government. And, there is a word for people like you. _Divergent_."

**oOoOo**

**Hope you like it! Feedback is appreciated, sorry if it sucks.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Ceremony--And The Choice

**A/N: I will try to respond to reviews.**

**Guest reviewer Anubis: thank you for having faith in this! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**oOoOo**

"You are dangerous to the system of our government. And, there is a word for people like you. _Divergent_."

After a moment, I find my voice again. "But, w-wh—"

She holds onto my shoulders and looks me dead in the eye. "Dawn, you cannot, under _any circumstances_, tell _anyone_ about this. If the government finds out, you will die. That is the only thing I'm certain of."

"So, what should I do?" I ask quietly. "Which Faction should I choose, since I received three results?"

"You will be safest in Amity, or Abnegation. You may be able to survive Dauntless initiation, but you would always have to be on guard. Candor initiation may cause you to confess what you are." Tears form in the corner of her eyes. "And, please, if you value your life, don't choose Erudite. Their leader is behind eliminating the Divergent. Honestly, your safest bet is to be Amity or… Factionless."

I gasp. Factionless are the people who have no Faction, whether from leaving a Faction, failing initiation, or being born Factionless. They are the homeless people of our city. Each Faction views them differently. Abnegation looks upon them as their duty to help them. Amity pities them. Candor ignores them. Dauntless mess with them. Erudite looks at them like a disease that should be avoided, since most are from Erudite. I'm not sure why.

"What is your name? You have not told me yet." I ask, attempting to lighten the mood. As I look at her more closely, I notice that her eyes squint ever so slightly, as if she needed glasses, but I'm sure her Faction wouldn't allow them.

"My name is Bethany Wilson. Now, please, you must go straight home, and don't tell anyone the truth about why you left early. I will have to deliver the results by hand, and say that you got sick during the test."

oOoOo

On the way home, I realize that I must really hide my feelings from my parents. My father was Candor, so he may notice something is wrong, but my mother, born in Amity, should not notice. Thank goodness I am an only child.

As I walk through the door, Mother is home to greet me.

"Hi, sweetie!" She envelopes me in a hug, the standard greeting of Amity. "Why are you home early?" she asks curiously.

"I felt sick after the test. I was sent home early. I do feel better now, though." I respond to her question with the answer I had been practicing in my mind the entire way home.

"Well, it's great you're feeling better now. Your father should be home soon, he's out in the fields. So, how did the test go—even though we both know I'm not supposed to ask?"

"Exactly, I shouldn't tell you what I got, but I will tell you that I did not get Dauntless, Abnegation, Candor, or Erudite." I lie through my teeth with a smile that fills me with guilt. I really shouldn't lie to my mother, but I have to.

My guilt worsens when she lights up with a huge grin. "Oh, how wonderful! Just know, whatever you choose, we love you anyway. No matter which of the five you choose."

"Thank you." I say, grateful to know that she is really meaning what she says. "I love you." I add.

Once my father got home, my worry increased. He may be Amity, but he was Candor. He can still spot a lie. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and if he detected anything was wrong, he didn't say.

As I lie in my bed to sleep, I truly do not know what I will choose. I do, however, know what I will not choose—Dauntless or Abnegation. I could never be brave or selfless enough.

Amity. My current home. My family is here, I have a few friends, and I have a perfect life imagined here. But I did get two other results.

Candor. They can be brutally honest at most times, but I am, too.

Erudite. If I was intelligent enough to acquire it as a result, then I am surely intelligent enough to become one.

And that is not even considering my Divergence. I would be safe in Amity. Candor would force it out of me. And Erudite is led by the person who is in charge of eliminating them.

But, just maybe, I can outsmart them.

But, maybe by thinking that I can, I am overestimating myself.

All I know is that I have to decide.

oOoOo

Today's the day. The Choosing Ceremony. I, filled with dread, get out of bed and pull on some red denim jeans and a soft yellow sweater. Comfort is my main priority, as I am already mentally uncomfortable.

I have to choose today.

Then again, every sixteen-year-old must choose today which Faction to spend the rest of their life in.

Candor, Amity, or Erudite?

This will not be easy.

When we all get to the Hub, the building in which the ceremony will be held, we divide into our separate Factions, with the exception of the sixteen-year-olds, who stand in reverse alphabetical order. I catch a glimpse of Zoey, and we share a nod of reassurance. I also see the Dauntless boy with the green mohawk, who looks as relaxed as possible, and I see the Candor girl, who is again looking at the Dauntless as a whole.

The room we are in has five large bowls on a stage, one bowl for each Faction. The one for Abnegation is filled with smooth gray stones, Amity with soil, Candor with clear glass, Dauntless with lit coals, and Erudite with blue water.

A short man with a powder-blue suit—Erudite—and salt-and-pepper, neatly parted hair introduces and welcomes us, putting on quite a show. He tries to work the crowd as much as possible. He is the Erudite Faction leader. I try not to think about what he does too much. We begin to be called, after the short speech about why the Factions were created. Peace was the ultimate goal, and we have achieved it.

After the introduction, our names are called one at a time. I will be third, so I have nearly no time to decide.

"Noah Zemer." A tan-skinned boy with dark hair from Erudite is handed a knife as he walks on stage. He goes up to the Erudite bowl—with no hesitation—and drags the blade across his palm, and his bloods drips into the water. He has chosen Erudite, and his Faction responds with mild applause. Surely they knew he would return. He goes back to sit with them.

"Duncan Xylo." The Dauntless boy I saw is called. He smirks at the dark-skinned man handing him the knife and gladly takes it. He walks over to the five bowls arranged in a circle, seemingly without nervousness—but I can sense even he is not entirely sure, interesting—and slices his palm open. I can tell he doesn't really like the pain, but I am sure no one else saw. Maybe I should join Candor.

Duncan lets the blood pool in his hand, acting like it is for suspense, but he is deciding, and after a moment, drips it into the Dauntless bowl. His Faction is unsurprised and bursts into cheers and massive applause. He goes to sit with them and receives friendly slaps on the back. He can tell he made the right choice, and I know he did, too.

"Dawn Wintergreen." My stomach flips when I hear my name. Everything seems too loud, even though it is silent. As I walk up I search the crowd for familiar faces. I see my parents, who offer reassuring smiles. I see Bethany, who gives me a sympathetic yet cautionary look. Choose wisely, she seems to say.

The man hands me the knife, and I shrink back from him a little. He is very tall and imposing, and seems to be missing a tooth. His aura seems dangerous.

Somehow I reach the stage. Funny, I don't remember walking up there. Must be the adrenaline. I feel a twinge of pain as I cut the blade across my palm, and I know I could never be Dauntless, since I hate even that small amount. If I have contemplated my choice this much, I could never be selfless enough to be Abnegation.

My three choices remain.

Soil—where I grew up, but is all I want in life to be happy? I want to be able to access my full intelligence.

Glass—what I can always see, but I would always be harboring a secret in a world of truth.

Water—why I've thought so much about this. But it would be the most dangerous.

My question remains, could I outsmart and evade them—but would I be overestimating myself, rendering myself not as smart as I thought?

I feel like a year has passed since I started thinking, but it really has only been a few seconds. The big man is getting impatient with me, meanwhile the blood is pooling in my hand.

Soil to my right.

Glass in front of me.

Water to my front-left.

I sense my time is up.

I thrust my hand to the side…

And listen to the soft plunking of my blood dripping into the water.

I have chosen Erudite.

I left my family.

As I sit with my chosen Faction, I look at Bethany. She looks back with worried eyes. My mother smiles at me, as if to say I'm proud of you. My father shows a forced smile.

Did I make the right choice?


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome To Erudite

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: again, thank you so much Anubis! Your reviews mean a lot to me. **

**A/N 2: I will try to update weekly.**

**oOoOo**

Erudite.

_Erudite._

My mind is a blur for the rest of the ceremony. I recognize a few faces, though. Zoey surprises me when she chooses Dauntless instead of Amity, after deciding between the two for a moment.

The Candor girl, Gwen, also chooses Dauntless. Her family doesn't look surprised.

I also notice a Candor boy with shaggy dark hair and bright green eyes, one of Gwen's friends, I think, chooses Amity. They share a glance, and a knowing look. They will see each other later.

One of the most… interesting initiates is a scrawny boy from Erudite with spiky dark hair, which somehow flipped over his eye—which had oddly turned from black to brown—when his name was called. "He" then went up and chose Dauntless, but after he sat down, his hair flipped back, and he buried his face in his hands. As the Factions were arranged in alphabetical order, our Factions were next to each other. We were both on the ends of our rows, and I could faintly hear him whispering, "What have you done?"

Zoey was sitting next to him on the other side. She saw me looking and gave a smile and a nod. I glanced at Mike, and she got the hint. Zoey put her hand on his back to console him. He looked up, startled, but saw her and smiled slightly. Obviously there would be something between them.

Next, a girl from Amity, Bridgette—we had talked occasionally, and I can say she was a friend—chose Abnegation, with a bit of hesitation. She will fit in there.

Do I fit in Erudite?

After the ceremony, the Erudite are led out of the building by the introducer, Chris McLean. I was right about him being the leader of Erudite. Supposedly he is behind getting rid of the Divergent, but one look at his aura is quite disarming. Sure, he may be egocentric and a narcissist, but he doesn't seem too dangerous.

I asses my new Faction members once we get outside. Aside from Noah Zemer, the one I saw choosing, I don't recognize anyone else from the ceremony itself. There is a dark-skinned boy from Amity—Cameron, he is brilliant but quiet. and he prefers to be alone, no wonder he transferred. We had talked before, and even sat together in lunch a few times, but he always preferred to be alone, no wonder he transferred. There is a tall, attractive girl with angular eyes from Dauntless, Heather, I think her name was. She doesn't look too happy to be here.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" I ask her gently. She doesn't seem like the friendly type.

"No. My boyfriend Alejandro said he would transfer with me." She says angrily, then adds the next part under her breath. "And _he's_ here."

She gestures to a lanky redhead twirling a stick like a weapon. "Harold. I met him at school and I'm pretty sure he likes me—EW—and now we're stuck in the same Faction for the rest of our lives. I thought he would go to Dauntless, by the way he acts so tough. Alejandro could snap him like a twig." She suddenly looks at me with an icy glare. "What's it to you anyway, _pansy?_" She shoves past me, and goes to the front of the group.

Pansy. I'm guessing that is the nickname given to the Amity members by Dauntless.

"Don't mind her. She's just… Heather." A tan girl with big brown eyes and short brown hair says to me. "I'm Courtney, also a Dauntless born, Erudite transfer." She says happily. "I can't wait for initiation."

"What is their initiation?" I ask. I had never heard about it before.

"_Our_ initiation… and I think it's only an IQ test. The bottom five, I think, get booted." It's pretty harsh, but, hey, this is the Faction of intelligence. We just can't have idiots here."

"Booted… as in Factionless?" I ask. Bethany said I would be safe if I was Factionless, but I of course would not want to be. Bethany. She specifically told me not to choose Erudite, yet I chose them anyway.

My thoughts are interrupted when we come to a line of sleek, silver cars with tinted windows and solar panels on their roofs.

"Are we riding in those?" I ask, to no one in particular, trying to hide my excitement. I'd never been in one before.

"No, we just get to gawk at them all day. Now close your mouth, you'll catch flies." Noah, the first one to choose, deadpans to me. I turn red from embarrassment. He's right. I shouldn't act so amazed. I belong here. I chose Erudite, so now I am Erudite.

We file into the cars. Each one seats six people, including the driver. The other people in my car are Noah, Courtney, and two others, one transfer from Abnegation and one Erudite-born initiate. The car is filled with an awkward silence, except for the driver's attempt to make small talk with Noah. I suppose they know each other, but Noah apparently doesn't want to talk.

I tug on my sweater collar. I feel like my red and yellow are too bright against the midnight-blue interior of the car, and especially against the gray, blue and black of the other initiates' clothing.

When we finally get to Erudite HQ, which is not too far away from the Hub, Chris McLean divides us into two groups.

"Alright, initiates! Erudite-born with my assistant, transfers with me. I'll show you around." Chris flashes a smile that looks too unnatural, too perfect, but that could just be me thinking so. I feel I need to be on edge around this man.

Inside, the Erudite-born go with the tall, dark man who handed me the knife. The rest of us follow Chris. There are a total of twelve transfers and twelve Erudite-born. Five of us will not make it into Erudite, if what Courtney said was true. I scan our small group for any familiar faces, other than the ones I just met. I see no one else I know.

Chris takes us to the bedrooms, which are about each thirty square feet, with eight beds in each. "Girls in one room, boys in the other. Choose your own beds later. Follow me." Chris leads us to a side room full of blue clothing, in many shades, styles, and sizes. "Alright, pick your first Erudite outfit, and ditch your old clothes. You will have time to come back later, but you have more of the compound to see." He leaves for a few minutes as we pick our clothes.

I pick a satin light-blue dress that comes down just past my knees and midnight blue flats. I am about to choose a sky blue sweater, even though it's warm inside. The sweater reminds me of home. No, I remind myself, this is your home now.

I put the sweater back. Heather has chosen a tight dark-blue dress that stops above her knees. Courtney chooses a button-down and shorts that go with her tan skin. Cameron also chooses a button-down shirt and shorts, but in a lighter color. No matter how hard he tries, the clothes are still too big on his tiny frame.

"He wants us to WHAT?" I suddenly hear Heather complain loudly.

"Suck it up and put these on!" Courtney replies, matching Heather's volume. We have to wear glasses, and my guess is simply because they make us look more intelligent.

"But I look like a nerd!"

"Why did you choose Erudite, again? Obviously, you aren't smart enough to pass initiation!" Courtney digs. Heather's fair skin had tinted a slight red with anger.

"Like you are? You only chose it to prove you're smarter than me!" the room has gone silent, except for Heather and Courtney. Anyone can see that they were old enemies.

"Like I need to prove that! _You_ only chose this because you thought your boyfriend would choose it too! But, I guess even that sleezeball couldn't stand to be around you." Courtney adds with a smirk.

"This is nothing like Amity." A quiet voice whispers in my ear. Cameron. He looks afraid of both girls.

"It sure isn't, but once their Dauntless nature wears off, it will get better." I whisper back to him. Heather unexpectedly turns her head towards us, and I see a flicker of something in her aura. This will not be good.

"Look, everyone! The pansies are in looove!" Do NOT respond to her. Whatever you do, do not mention—

"Oh, Heather, just because your aura makes it clear you are a hateful and insecure person, and that you have suffered a terrible loss when you were younger, does not mean you have to be hateful here, anymore."

The room is silent, with all eyes on me.

Oh, God. What did I just do?

Ruined my new life here, that's what.

Heather looks at me, eyes wide for a moment—but recovers her icy stare before anyone else notices.


	4. Chapter 4: Lunch, Fights, And a Note

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: there may be slash, or mentions of it, in future chapters. (To be fair, the books both hint and explicitly state the existence of gay characters.)**

**A/N 2: I had a day off—and spent at least half of it writing this—so here's the next chapter about six days early…**

**oOoOo**

I just revealed Heather's aura to everyone in the room.

I just couldn't stop myself.

Heather looks at me with wide eyes—but recovers quickly.

"Did you just say an aura? What are you, some kind of freak? What is an aura, anyway." She asks, trying to cover her surprise. I was spot-on.

I decide to play dumb for now. This will be the first test of my intelligence, and also reassures me that I couldn't have been Candor.

"Um, I never said anything about an 'aura.' You must have heard me wrong." I say "confused," and with such conviction that I'm not even sure if the two Candor-born in the room know I am lying.

"See, Heather? I told you that you wouldn't be smart enough to pass initiation. You can't even hear correctly!" Courtney returns to the previous fight, with Heather soon joining in.

"Good work, Dawn. You are an amazing liar." Cameron whispers back as the girls fight again. I look at him.

"How could you tell?" Did he get Candor as a result, too?

"Believe me, I wouldn't have been able to tell you were lying if I didn't already know you could see auras." That's right. We were in Amity together. I forgot for a moment, realizing just how much he belongs in Erudite. It's like he was always here.

"Of course. So, are you worried about initiation, Cameron?" I ask.

"To be honest, I've calculated the risk of me getting kicked out, and the results are slim for me. So, I'm not too worried about the test, but I am concerned about Heather." He replies.

"Is she not as smart as she seems?"

"No, she is plenty smart, but her personality is… volatile."

"I know what you mean. She picks fights just to be in one. I would avoid her as much as possible." I add the next part hesitantly, and under my breath. "Her aura is dangerously red."

"Alright. What do you think of Courtney?" he asks me curiously. I glance at her, but she and Heather are too involved in their fight to notice. I do a quick read of her.

"Well, she seems very clever, but the only thing dangerous about her is her temper. Heather… she knows what she's doing."

We are interrupted by Chris, now in a dark blue shirt and khaki pants. "Okay, initiates! Let's move on! Heather, Courtney?"

I had not noticed the position they were in—Courtney had grabbed Heather's dress and crouched on top of her, fist ready to hit her face. Meanwhile, Heather had a handful of Courtney's hair and had a foot on her stomach, holding her up away from her. I had to bite my lip to suppress a smile. They looked so ridiculous. "Yes?" they answer simultaneously.

"We are _not_ in Dauntless anymore. Also, our faction discourages violence. You do not want to end up Factionless, do you?"

"No." They mutter.

"I thought so. Come along!" We join back up with the Erudite-born and are led to the cafeteria. It is a long walk, as the compound is massive. Along the way, I have time to finally think. I go through what I know is true.

Okay. So I've chosen Erudite. The leader is Chris McLean, supposedly the man behind eliminating the Divergent. His assistant—Hatchet, I heard one of the others call him—seems more like the kind of man who would do the dirty work. There are twenty-four initiates, twelve transfers, and twelve born here. I know Courtney and Heather are prone to violence, but that Courtney only fights because Heather invokes it.

We get to the cafeteria and have lunch. I take none of the meat, as I am a vegetarian. I sit with Courtney, Cameron, the transfer from Abnegation that rode here with me, and both transfers from Candor. Courtney decides to start the conversation.

"So," she says, taking bites of a chicken sandwich. "What were your test results?" she asks, to nobody in particular. Great, just what I wanted to talk about. With the Candor sitting here, I know I have to be careful.

The two Candor-born go first. "I got Candor, but my friend B here got Erudite." He gestures to the boy sitting next to him. Nothing about him is small, I notice. He even has a large aura. Purple and green. Thoughtful and caring, but why did he leave? The boy who talked continues. "B doesn't talk much, or at all. He is a genius, and I told him I would transfer with him. So, what were the rest of your results?"

Cameron answers first. "Erudite."

"Amity." I say. They do not suspect anything, I hope.

"Candor, actually. I don't have any idea why." Courtney says, puzzled.

"So, you confessed to the guy on the bus?" the one Candor transfer asks.

"Nope. Like I said, no idea why I got it." She repeats.

"Dauntless." The boy from Abnegation says quietly. "And I wish I didn't." B pats him on the back, then I remember.

"The dog?" I ask gently.

"Yeah."

After a moment of silence, I continue. "Do you think you made the right choice?"

He looks at me. His hair is a black buzz-cut. "The dog, or Erudite?"

"Both."

"The dog, no. The faction… yes…" He answers, hesitating. The Candor-born share a glance. "No…. I don't know. I was going to choose Amity, but my hand apparently had better ideas. Next thing I know, I chose Erudite." He says, looking down at his food. "I'm Brick." He finishes quietly.

I worry about him a little. He seems sweet, but possibly too sweet for this place. At least he did not choose Dauntless.

"So, how do you think you'll do in initiation, Brick?" Courtney asks him, trying to break the silence.

"I hope I make it. I heard half don't make it in." He replies.

"H-half? I heard only five wouldn't make it." Courtney says, a little nervous. Heather happened to be walking by at this moment and overheard.

"What, are you _worried_? Is little-miss-fearless… _afraid_?" she taunts. I sense Courtney really is more nervous than she let on before.

"Just go away, Heather." Courtney replies, looking down. "Please, let's not fight again." Her aura is worrisome right now. I can't help but pray for her not to do anything irrational. I glance at Cameron, who is sliding down in his seat, trying to hide.

"Are you already turning soft? This may not be Dauntless, but it isn't Amity. You've been hanging around _them_ too long." Heather gestures to me and Cameron.

"_Enough_." Courtney pleads through gritted teeth.

"Oh, come on. Have you forgotten where you came from already? Where's the Courtney that k—"

"I said _ENOUGH_!" Courtney nearly screams, standing abruptly, knocking over her chair in the process. She was holding a steak knife. The room went silent, except for her own heavy breathing.

I saw a figure walk in the door from the corner of my eye. I did not want to look away, so I could see if anything was going to happen.

"Ladies, please!" Chris—the figure who came in—yelled, and stormed over to our table. "If I knew we would have had so much trouble with you, I would have kicked you out after that fight earlier! I can still do that, but I am giving you both one last chance as initiates. If you get into one more fight before initiation, you will become Factionless. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Heather replies.

"Fine." Courtney says angrily.

"Good. We are not in Dauntless anymore. Lunch is over. All of you, come with me." Thankfully, Chris leads us out of the cafeteria.

We come up to the largest library I have ever seen. Just as we are about to enter, I feel a tap on my shoulder. The Candor-transfer who introduced himself and his friend hands me a folded piece of paper.

"Hey, my friend wanted me to give you this. I'm Cody. Don't worry, I didn't read it."

"Greetings, Cody. I'm Dawn." I look at the folded paper. Written on the outside is beautiful handwriting that said "Dear Friend, open when you are alone."

"B didn't want to give it to you personally. I bet it's a love note…" I see a note of sadness in his aura. "The only person I've really liked was Gwen. She was from Candor too, but she went to Dauntless. I bet she'll place first in whatever their initiation is."

I think back to the ceremony and when she chose. She certainly did seem to have a strong and determined aura. "I wouldn't be surprised if she did." I say honestly with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks. Whoa! Look at all those books!" he exclaims as we enter the library. I tuck the paper into my shoe to keep it safe.

I look up, and involuntarily gasp. I am surrounded by thousands of books. Mostly non-fiction, but there was a corner of fiction, all of which looked old. They must have only been kept for entertainment. I do not go over there right away, because a book on the faction history of Erudite catches my eye.

I take the book from the shelf. Maybe one of the Erudite-born knows if I check it out, just take it, or what. I see the librarian, and I recognize him from the ride here as the driver who tried to talk to Noah, and I figure he will be my best hope. I did not notice before, but him and Noah bear a very strong physical resemblance.

"Excuse me, can I check this out?" I ask.

"Of course. Welcome to Erudite, by the way. You were in the car with my brother on the way here, right?" he asks me as he scans the bar code on the book.

"Noah? Yes, I was. So, you two are brothers?" he hands me the book.

"Yep. Between you and me, Noah's not as calloused as he may seem. He does have a soft side. But, having to live up as the younger brother to a first-place initiation ranker. I'm Dave, by the way. Oh, do not tell Noah you talked to me, he doesn't like me very much, but I am sure you picked up on that on the way here." He says to me.

"Alright. Well, I must be leaving now. Thank you." I say as we head back to our rooms.

We settle in and choose our beds. It goes relatively smoothly, after a quick squabble—only verbal—between Heather and Courtney, and a quick reminder from an Erudite-born girl mentioning how close they are to becoming Factionless.

I sit down on my bed and pull the note out of my shoe.

"Dear Friend, open when you are alone." I open the note.

"I am sorry I don't know your name, but I have a question for you." I am thinking it may be a love note…

But my heart quickens for the wrong reasons when I read the next and final lines.

"At lunch, I could tell you were lying about getting Amity after the aptitude test. Either you got a different result, or you got more than one. So, tell me, mystery girl. What were your actual results?"


	5. Chapter 5: An Answer, And A Missing Page

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: I will be unavailable from June 30th to July 9th.**

**A/N 2: Attention Bawn shippers, Bawn will be in this story. :) **

**A/N 3: There will be characters not from the Total Drama series, but they will not have a major part in the story. **

**oOoOo**

H-how did he know? Well, he is from Candor, but still…. Is he Divergent, as well? Does he even know about them? Did Cody notice, too?

I need to talk to B about this, but later. It's been a long day, but I want to read the Erudite history book I checked out earlier. I tuck the paper back in my shoe.

_Erudite: Faction History for Transfers_

Oh. I did not even notice that it was for transfers. I open it up to the very first page, which has the faction manifesto printed in it. I realize that I hadn't even thought about their—_our _manifesto yet.

Amity had a relatively short manifesto. It mentioned the virtues trust, self-sufficiency, forgiveness, and kindness, in short passages called "Conversations of Peace." Amity blamed aggression for conflict. Erudite blamed ignorance.

I blame ignorance; I do. Ignorance leads to aggression, which ultimately leads to conflict. Ignorance is the root of aggression, in essence.

The Erudite manifesto is longer than Amity's, and it states that "Knowledge is the only logical solution to conflict." I really do believe that. It continues to say that we must be educated in the fields of sociology, psychology, mathematics, science, communication, and history. It also says that initiates who do not meet a requirement after a lot of studying will be exiled from Erudite. Some, however, will get menial jobs in the faction.

My favorite part is where it says that, "Intelligence is a gift, not a right. It must be wielded not as a weapon but as a tool for the betterment of others."

The manifesto was actually before the glossary. I scan the chapters in the book and stop at one that says "Divergence: What is it, exactly?"

The book says that Divergence occurs when someone receives more than one result from the aptitude test. I knew that already, though. The chapter goes on to say that it happens because one has an abnormally large prefrontal cortex, a region in the brain. It does not elaborate much more on why it occurs. When I first heard Bethany tell me what I was, it sounded dangerous, but now, am I really that special? The next page says that any additional information on Divergence, especially if the reader knows someone who is Divergent, to report it to current faction leader.

Looking closer, I see a page is missing. It was ripped out carefully near the spine of the book. I wonder what could have been on it.

At least the article reminded me why I should be on edge here, since Bethany said that being Divergent could mean my death. Are any other initiates Divergent? It isn't like I can just ask them, but maybe I can judge their reactions…

"Hey, Dawn, what are you reading?" I look up, and see Courtney has noticed the book. Instead of slamming it shut—since it is still open to the Divergence chapter—I decide to play it off.

"Just an Erudite manual of sorts." I answer. "Divergent. So they are real. My parents told me about them when I was younger. I wonder why they are so dangerous."

Her eyes light up. "I heard that their minds are insane, and that they can explode someone's head when they get angry. Of course, I never believed it." Courtney says laughing. "So, do you know any?"

Her aura is clear. She is either not one, or does really not know that she is Divergent—if she even is, which I highly doubt. "No. I kind of wish I did, though." I say calmly, getting up from my bed. "I should probably go see B. He gave me this note earlier…"

"A love note, perhaps? Do tell!" she pleads.

"I shouldn't. It is private, you know…" I say with a wink. All of this lying is wearing me out, maybe I should've just picked Candor. My secret would be out, but it would be off of my chest.

"Okay, but I want to hear how it goes later!" she tells me as I leave the room.

The boy's room is just next door. I knock first, of course. To my relief, B answers the door.

His eyes widen when he sees me, along with the note in my hand. "Greetings B, I believe we need to talk. Alone, preferably." I say discreetly.

He nods and we step out into the hallway. I feel like we are being watched, so I have to play it off, once again.

"So, B. Why did you write the note?" I ask happily, but with a look in my eyes that—I hope—conveys what I am actually asking him. Being born in Candor, he should pick it up.

He sits down, and pulls out another piece of paper and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He writes a little and then hands it to me. "_I hope writing is okay. I really do not talk."_

"Of course, B!" he smiles, and I write a little this time. "_I feel we are being watched. We must be careful."_

We pass the paper and pencil back and forth. "_Alright. So, what is your name, mystery girl?"_

"_Dawn. My name is Dawn. Can we please get back to the note?"_

"_Okay, Dawn. Well, you just seemed a bit nervous when you answered. What were you not telling us?"_

I take a breath, and bite my lips, but put on a fake smile and blush in case we really are being watched. I say the next part out loud. "I do not know as to what you are referring to." I look away from him, still forcing myself to blush.

He raises an eyebrow. I write a little more. _"Fine. I resulted in Erudite. I just felt I owed my family something. I still feel a little guilty about leaving them. Do you, B?" _I try to change the subject.

"_Yes, slightly. My family, yes, but I was happy to leave Candor. You see, they did not really like the fact that I do not speak. They always thought I was hiding something."_ He hands me the note.

I speak aloud again. "But if you do not speak, you are not lying."

He takes the paper again. _"No, but I could be 'withholding' the truth."_

"Oh." I say. "But you got Candor?"

"_Yes. The results do not rely on what you say, but what you do. I nodded yes to the man on the train. Speaking of which, I will only ask one more time, what was your real result?"_

"How do you do it? Fine. I'll tell you." I fake a smile like an idiot and write, _"I noticed the man on the train was lying. I told him that, and got Candor as a result."_

He seems extremely surprised, but satisfied with this. _"Wow, I did not even suspect that he was lying. Thank you, Dawn—the not-such-a-mystery girl." _He extended his large hand to shake. I took it softly, and to keep up the act to the cameras I'm sure are there, stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Now, I was blushing for real.

We both walked back to our rooms.

Courtney was first to greet me. "So, are you two a thing? Is there a connection, a spark?"

"Even if there was, I would not tell you." I state, smiling.

"I knew it! There totally is. Was the note a love note?" she asks.

"Not exactly…" I think of the first note. I must get rid of it, soon. I would not want anyone else to read it. I will just use the bathroom later and flush it.

"Well, we had better get some sleep. I heard we will be put through 'rigorous mental training' tomorrow." Courtney says, sitting down on her bed, which is next to mine.

"Whatever. I don't see why they just test us now and get it over with." Heather adds, filing her nails across the room.

"The test is in three days, will that be soon enough for you?" an Erudite-born girl half-sarcastically informs her.

"Who asked you, genius?" Heather snaps. The girl huffs and turns away from her.

Three days of studying, then the big test determining if we can continue being Erudite.

As I fall asleep, all I can think about is getting in.

Then I remember, it would be safer for me to be Factionless. I knew being Divergent was going to be dangerous, but I just hope I am not in as much danger as Bethany made me out to be in.

But, as far as I know, being Divergent just means I have a slightly different brain size and more than one faction I could fit into. What could be so terribly dangerous about that?

And was the page in the book just coincidentally ripped out? It looked too perfect to be accidental.

I get the feeling that, whatever the information on the missing page, there was someone who did not want people seeing it.


	6. Chapter 6: Training--Days 1 and 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: this is the first time I have ever made it past the fifth chapter! Here's a sixth-chapter slice of cake for my loved readers! Also, this is the last update before I leave for ten days.**

**oOoOo**

**Training: Day 1**

"Attention, initiates, mental training will begin in ten minutes in the library." The announcement came over intercom from Chris, waking all of us up. We all groggily sat up in our beds and pulled on new clothing for the day. I put my hair in a bun and—begrudgingly—put on glasses. I had good eyesight without them, and wearing them strained my eyes.

In the hallway, I met up with B and Cody, both also wearing glasses. Brick—the Abnegation transfer—was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he pulled himself from initiation and became Factionless.

"Hey, Dawn, you ready for this?" Cody asked me.

"Yes, I suppose. How about you two?" I reply. B gave me a thumbs-up.

"Yeah. I am a little nervous. I mean, this is all we get until we're tested." The smaller boy included.

Cameron came up to us. "Hey, guys—and Dawn, isn't this exciting?"

"Dude, you're excited for this?" Cody asked incredulously.

"Why shouldn't I be? We are not only learning about the culture of our chosen faction, but we can see how we rank against the others of our age!" the wide-eyed boy exclaimed.

"Where were you born, again?"

"Amity, why?" he asked.

"No reason. It's just anyone would think you were born here." Cody stated, smirking. "No doubt you'll make it in!"

The group of initiates filed into the library, most of the Erudite-born sticking together, but Noah came over to introduce himself with the boy Heather disliked from before.

"Hello. I am not here to make friends with you; I am just surveying the competition for initiation. My 'friend,' Harold, did want to introduce himself, however." Noah said, peering over his glasses at Cody, B, Cameron, and me.

Harold introduced himself. "Greetings, I am Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady the fifth. Erudite-born, but I am sure that you have noticed already." He talked proudly. I got the sense from him that people tended to underestimate him. "I see Heather has joined Erudite, as well. Do not believe everything she says. Sure, I think she is physically attractive—who doesn't?—but my heart belongs to the lovely Leshawna. She is Candor-born and chose Candor, but I know our love will live on."

"Harold, no one wants to hear your life story." Noah cut in. "Sorry. He tends to ramble on. Constantly."

"It's alright. So what is this 'mental training,' really?" Cody asked the two Erudite-born.

"Well, the first day is learning out of books, the second day is virtual, and the third is a field-trip around the city." Harold answered.

That sounded interesting. Day three was going to be fun.

"Okay, everyone, attention!" Chis interrupted. "As I am sure you all know, today's training is studying from any book you choose in this library. I know it may sound boring—and it is—but I can tell you that both tomorrow and Day 3 will be more exciting.

"I realize that until now I have not really welcomed you to your faction. So, welcome both transfers—you chose perfectly, by the way—and those born here—I knew you would stay.

"Initiation will decide which of you will get to continue being here. Here's the breakdown of who stays: those who fail are immediately rendered Factionless, but those who pass, albeit with poor scoring will be offered menial jobs that support the faction of Erudite. It is possible for most of you to make it in, but it is also possible for very few of you to make it." Chris finished. I noticed that now, even some of the Erudite-born looked and felt nervous.

Whispers among the initiates broke out. I heard someone on the verge of tears.

"But, Chris, why can't everyone be here? We chose Erudite, so that means that we know we are smart enough to be here." Heather asked, feigning nonchalance, but I could tell she was nervous. I looked at Courtney and she was biting her lip—but not from nervousness, to keep from combating Heather.

The Erudite-born looked at Heather. "Dear Heather, just because you think you are smart, does not necessarily mean you are." Chris said with a pointed glance at her, resulting in Heather's face flushing from embarrassment. "Am I correct, Heather?"

"Yes." She muttered in response. Courtney just smirked at her.

"So," Courtney started, "do we just pick any book from here? There are no requirements?"

"Correct, but I would make sure to cover a wide variety of subjects. You never know what could be on the test." Chris said. "So, get studying, and we break at noon for lunch, then again at six for dinner."

We all dispersed to different areas of the huge library. I found myself flipping through another book on faction history—it had always been my favorite subject in school—but this book was pertaining to the entire government, not just Erudite.

The day went quickly. We were allotted a half-hour for lunch and dinner, where I sat with B, Cody, Cameron, and Courtney. I found myself thinking during dinner that I finally had friends, real friends who like me for me—but I realized that it was not really me that they were seeing and talking to, but a normal girl who cannot read auras (with the exception of Cameron, anyway), and who is certainly not Divergent. I couldn't tell them either of those things, for fear that I would lose them. And how could I expertly hide my Divergence? I feel like I need to draw any attention away from myself, and that means that I should place at about the middle in the rankings. Not first, that's for sure.

These thoughts followed me until I fell asleep that night, and my last thought before sleep was startling, but because it was a "normal teenage girl" thought: B, and why I really blushed when I kissed his cheek. I was just playing it for the cameras, right? I wasn't embarrassed, so why was I blushing? I didn't _like _him, did I? I had not even thought to read his aura.

I don't want to get him involved in my life. I don't want to hurt him—or anybody, but especially him.

oOoOo

**Training: Day 2**

Chris's announcement didn't wake me this morning, I was already up. My thoughts from the night before—including my thoughts about B, did not let me sleep much.

"Attention, initiates, please report to the Computer and Virtual Reality room in forty-five minutes. I would recommend a light breakfast. To the Erudite-born, please show a transfer initiate to the CVR room when it is time." Chris announced. I got out of bed and walked to the cafeteria alone.

For breakfast, there were muffins, bagels, toast, fruit, bacon and sausage (of which I took none of), and yogurt, along with a variety of beverages. I took a blueberry muffin, a cup of fruit with pineapple and melon, and a glass of clear, bubbling liquid, soda, which was apparently Erudite's food specialty. In Amity, we had bread. I'm not sure what the other factions had.

I was one of the first people in the cafeteria. As I sat down, B walked in. I felt a slight blush grow on my cheeks and took a bit of fruit to cover it.

"Greetings, B. Did you sleep well?" I asked as he sat down, because I didn't know of anything else to say.

He gave a so-so motion with his hand. "Nervous?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Me too." I really was, so he wasn't suspicious.

None of my friends were in yet, so I figured that this was as good a time as any to tell him the lesser of my two secrets. "B?"

He looked at me. He could tell I was hesitant to ask.

"Um, I have something to tell you." I clasped my hands on the table in front of me. He looked like he was about to reach for them, but thought better of it.

"Promise me you won't think less of me, but I…" I found it hard to continue and chewed on my bottom lip. I closed my eyes and inhaled, steeling myself. I felt something touch my hands and opened my eyes. B had set one of his large hands on mine in a gesture of comfort. We looked at each other and both blushed a bit.

In the surge of adrenaline, I decided to tell him. "B, I can read auras." I blurted out, but quietly.

He did not look so surprised, but interested just the same. I felt better, but not fully, knowing that I still kept a life-threatening secret from him.

I looked at him, and he smiled reassuringly. "So, you do not think I'm a freak?" I nearly whispered to him.

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." I took his hand, before I could stop myself. "By the way, your aura is exceptionally purple-ish-green. It suits you, though." He smiled adorably—no. I have too much on my plate already. I do not want him to get hurt. _I do not like him. I cannot like him. _I let go of him.

Courtney came in, along with Cody and Cameron. "Hey, I hope we aren't interrupting…" Courtney said, winking at us. I rolled my eyes and smiled as they got in line for breakfast.

"Hey, guys." Cody was the first back with his food. "Um, do either of you know what this is?" he gestured to his soda.

"That is soda, Erudite's special food. Amity has bread, what does Candor have, Cody?" I asked curiously.

"Candor has black-and-white cookies. They aren't bad." He answered, and took a sip of his soda. "Wow! That is sweet; I love it!" Cody chugged the rest of it, then coughed. "That *cough* was fizzy."

Courtney returned next. "So, was I interrupting?"

"No, we were just having breakfast." I answered.

"Really? Because so many people hold hands when they eat." She smiled. She must have seen us before she came in. I felt warm all of a sudden. "I'm kidding! But only a little."

Not long after Cameron got back, it was time to head to the Computer and Virtual Reality room for Day 2. of training.

Since there were an equal number of transfers and Erudite-born, each Erudite-born paired up with a transfer and showed them to the CVR room. I was paired with a tall brunette, she was quiet—but from boredom.

The CVR room was lined with computers but had five virtual reality helmets around the center, where Chris and his assistant stood. Something about the helmets made me nervous, as Bethany's warning echoed in my head. _Erudite's leader is behind eliminating the Divergent._ The book I read did not help, as it said that any Divergent should be reported to the current faction leader.

"Alright, who's up first for the helmets? Transfers?" Chris's assistant, Hatchet, asked. I did not step forward or show I wanted to go—or run out, even though every instinct I had in me said to—since a thought from last night reoccurred. _Draw away any attention, _and that means avoiding it as well.

"How about you five?" Chris suggested, pointing to Heather, Cody, B, Courtney, and me.

"I think they would be happy to, Chris!" Hatchet said cheerily, condemning us five to whatever fate awaited in the helmets.

We stepped up, some more reluctant than others, and put the helmets on.

…Just like that, it was over. It seemed like only a second had passed, but in looking at the clock on the wall I saw that it had been ten minutes.

"Very good, you may sit at a computer now. Who's next?" Chris asked as I sat down in front of a screen. I pretended to scroll through different programs, but over and over in my head ran _what. Just. Happened._

I was terrified, not of going under during whatever they did, but the fact that I had no idea of what happened.

Throughout the day, I glanced at other initiates that had gone through that as well. We all shared the same look of confusion. Even the Erudite-born looked like they had never heard about this before, which I suppose they haven't.

I did go on the computer and research, but I did not take away much information that day.

Lying down to go to sleep, I still wondered what that could have been.

Then it hit me. From somewhere in the depths of my mind, I remembered from a book how brainwaves could be read, and it was eerily similar to what happened earlier.

If they did read my brain, and found out I am Divergent, then I was good as dead.


	7. Chapter 7: Training--Day 3, A Field Trip

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series**

**A/N: I'm finally back! I've missed writing this…**

**A/N 2: I am LOVING Pahkitew Island so far! (It is so much better than All-Stars!)**

**oOoOo**

**Training: Day 3**

This morning, I was more excited than nervous. It was day three of mental training, which meant a trip around the city. We had to report outside of the main entrance by nine, leaving us two hours to eat and explore the Erudite compound. I met up with Courtney and headed to breakfast.

"So, are you excited? We can see how our old friends are doing in their factions!" she said excitedly.

"Yes. I noticed a few interesting people at the choosing ceremony, and I hope I can see how they are now doing." I answered.

"Who were some of those people?" Courtney asked me curiously.

"Well, there was Duncan Xylo, who was not as tough as he seemed yet chose Dauntless regardless—"

"He was my old boyfriend." She interrupted me. "He has a sweeter side, but he had to put up a front in Dauntless to avoid being picked to shreds. He had a reputation going." She looked sad for a moment. "Who else did you notice?"

"There was this Candor girl, Gwen. She chose Dauntless, which was clearly where she belonged. Zoey, a new friend—from Abnegation—also chose Dauntless. She asked me about Amity, but I'm glad she chose Dauntless." I continued.

"Anyone else?"

"Mike. He was from Erudite, and chose Dauntless. He seemed… different when he chose, but after he chose, he seemed remorseful." What I didn't say was that his aura became much darker in the moments he chose.

"I knew Gwen a little. She will definitely fit in better in Dauntless than in Candor. Her boyfriend Trent was wonderful to her. It's too bad they chose different factions." Courtney revealed.

"They will see each other again soon. I could tell by the way they looked at each other after they chose. The factions will not keep them apart." I said confidently.

The rest of our friends walked into the cafeteria. B and I sat next to each other, and I avoided his gaze. I was sure he noticed.

After breakfast, he passed me a note in the hallway. It read, in the same beautiful script as before, "_Hey, are you okay? Did I do something, Dawn?"_

"No," I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. "No, you didn't do anything, B. I'm fine. Just… nervous." It was true. I was nervous to run into my family today on the trip, I was nervous about failing the test, I was nervous about my Divergence, I was nervous about dragging B down with me—lest he get caught in my mess.

He was satisfied with this. _"I am too. On a lighter note, what have you been up to—well, other than initiation?"_

I wrote back, since I did not want to say the next part out loud. _"I was reading a book on Erudite history, and came across a chapter on Divergence. Do you think it exists?"_

"_Possibly. I believe it could exist, but I have personally never met one."_

There was a flicker in his aura of dark blue around his head—fear of the future and anxiety—when he read the note. I figured he was either Divergent, or simply knew someone who was. I hoped it was the latter, since I did not want him in danger.

But Divergence was within one's brain, so it would make sense for fear to surround a Divergent's head.

I did not have much time to mull it over, since Chris came over the loud speaker.

"Attention, due to me feeling like it, the trip around the city has been moved up two hours. Everyone attending, please meet at the main entrance."

"Well, B, we had better go." I said to him quietly. He nodded, and we walked together.

When we got to the main entrance, there was a girl with orange hair in a large bun, standing next to Chris.

"Alright. First of all, this is Scarlett." Chris gestured to the girl next to him. She seemed a few years older than me. "She is training to be the next Erudite leader, since she has the highest IQ of any initiate we have ever had, and is one of the few to score above two-hundred. In case any of you were wondering, she was an initiate three years ago. In twenty years—according to our faction's guidelines—I will be forced to retire from being the Erudite leader, and Scarlett will take my place.

"Now, it is time to take a trip around the city. You might see old friends and your old faction for you transfers, but it is best to not seem too attached, since it could be interpreted as wishing you chose differently. There is visiting day to look forward to as well, which is when your family might come to visit you here. Let's load the cars, Hatchet." Chris finished. I observed Scarlett's aura—it showed that she was quiet, yet brilliant. She would certainly make a good leader.

We filed into the silver cars parked outside, and the air-conditioned interior felt like a blessing. It was hot out for even this time of year. I hoped it would pass soon. Our driver opened up a panel in the roof of the car, revealing a screen. Chris McLean appeared on it and began to speak.

"May I have your attention, please. Today we will drive to different parts of the city, stopping to observe some of the other factions. We will see the headquarters of the four other factions—but we are not going inside of any, simply because there is no reason to. I hope you will find our little trip enlightening. You will not be disappointed in choosing Erudite. McLean… out." With that, the screen turned off, and the driver pulled away from the building.

oOoOo

Our first stop was the Abnegation sector of the city. I thought back to Brick, and why I hadn't seen him in so long. I had thought that he left Erudite and became Factionless, but I don't know why I didn't think of it before: he seemed miserable, but why? He could've been Divergent. If he was he may have turned himself in. He may be dead.

Just another reason to be on edge.

I observed the Abnegation as they moved quietly inside and outside their houses. I had always respected their pure selfless lifestyle, but I knew I could never be one. Not that I was selfish, but that I was too bold, as Bethany had said, to forget myself the way that Abnegation are supposed to. I thought of Zoey. Would I see her today? I hoped she was doing well in Dauntless initiation along with Mike.

If I saw Bridgette, I did not notice, as they all blended together. I was sure she liked their lifestyle, though.

We did not interact with the Abnegation.

The next stop was Candor headquarters. The other result I had received from my aptitude test was Candor. I felt a bit… wistful as we pulled into the parking lot. I could have fit in here. We exited the cars and were able to see the people inside the clear glass building. We were able to watch some of the members debate lively with one another. Cody had told me that the Candor often held debates for fun. It certainly looked interesting.

I felt a presence move next to me. B stood by me and put a hand on my shoulder, as if to say _"I know you could have fit in here."_

I noticed a shift in his aura. I looked at him, and he shook his head. He handed me a note. _"You were right not to choose Candor." _

I looked at him, puzzled. I didn't want my expression to reveal that I thought he had found out I was Divergent. Not choosing Candor had allowed me to keep my secret… or did it? What did Chris do to my head yesterday? Did he find out?

B handed me another note. _"The truth serum. Ask Cody about it; he can explain better than I can."_

I nodded. I would ask Cody once we got back to the Erudite compound. I looked over to where the teal-eyed boy stood. He had a bit of a sad look in his eyes, but I knew he just missed his family.

Before long, however, it was time to go to the Dauntless sector of the city. I was excited to see how the people I knew were doing.

When we got out of the cars at Dauntless, the initiates seemed like they were getting ready to see the city as well. A head of bright-red hair with tight black clothes caught my attention, and then I recognized the face. It was Zoey. She saw me as well.

"Dawn!" she called out to me. I looked at the other Erudite initiates, and saw Heather and Courtney talking to others they knew from Dauntless as well.

"Hello, Zoey, how are you?" I asked, smiling. She was positively glowing.

"Oh, it's amazing here! It's a constant adrenaline rush, I'm so glad I chose Dauntless! I even made some friends." She revealed excitedly.

Good for her, I thought. Her aura read like an open book; it was obvious she did not have many friends from Abnegation, and that she was an only child. "Who are some of your friends?" I asked her.

"Gwen, a Candor transfer—she loves it here, too, and… well, "Mike." When that's who he is, anyway. He changes personality a lot. He calls them "his characters." I don't know what that means, but I know that four out of five like Dauntless. The other one just complains about it all the time. His one character, Mal… even scared the Dauntless leader." She whispered. "When Mike is himself, I really like him." She smiled. I knew that there would be a connection between them.

"Initiation is actually pretty scary, though. We have to face our fears, and fight other initiates in hand-to-hand combat. We also had a gnarly game of paintball." She laughed. "Our team won, of course." It was hard to believe she was ever Abnegation.

Brick was Abnegation, maybe she knew him.

"Zoey, did you know a 'Brick McArthur' before the choosing ceremony?" I decided to ask.

"Umm…" Zoey thought. "Yes. He belonged in Abnegation, and always acted like it. Well, until the aptitude test, anyways. After that, he seemed—distant, I guess. And nervous. He had a panic attack the morning of the ceremony. He chose Erudite, right?"

"Yes, but I haven't seen him since the second day." I confessed. Now I was worried. It sounded like he was Divergent, and then was found out.

"Maybe he became Factionless. You never know." Zoey stated.

We were loading back into the cars. It was time to go to the next sector of the city, which would be… Amity. My old home.

"Well, I must go, Zoey. I hope you do well in Dauntless." I said sincerely with a smile.

"Thanks, and same to you!" she said back as I walked toward the cars. I noticed Courtney was smiling, while Heather was scowling.

Well, the final faction to visit was Amity. When we got to the main building, I felt a pang of homesickness. There were some members and initiates working in the fields—surely what I'd be doing if I had stayed. We exited the cars to look around the orchards and fields.

I saw a familiar face from the ceremony, strumming a banjo. He seemed to be providing the entertainment for the people tilling. He was Gwen's friend from Candor. He seemed happy here, and not the normal Amity-type happiness—the superficial type, that I had grown so accustomed to that I hadn't noticed that it was different until I looked back—but a genuine contentment of being in Amity.

I saw my parents and waved to them. They noticed and waved back. I did not go over to them, lest I show what Chris would deem "too much emotion." I wanted to leave, yet I wanted to stay. I was mostly relieved to leave them behind. I did not want reminders of my old home anymore.

Getting back into the cars, Chris announced that we would be driving through the Factionless sector on the way back to Erudite HQ.

As soon as we saw the Factionless, I remembered that most were from Erudite and Dauntless. The Erudite ones worried me, as I could become one of them. The idea of becoming Factionless repulsed me, as did watching them share food from a can. They were filthy and wore tattered clothing, often mixing faction colors.

As soon as we finally got back, I went to our rooms—as did many other initiates—to think.

A thought hit me, and with it I felt sick—had I really changed so much over the past few days, to the point that I didn't even want to see my parents anymore and was now repulsed by the Factionless instead of sorry for them?

I'm sure it was normal. "Faction before blood" is the motto of the faction system, therefore I have embraced the faction system.

If I have, then why do I feel so awful?


	8. Chapter 8: Answers--And 100 Questions

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: I hope any readers I may have appreciate my efforts to get this chapter in on my weekly deadline, since I've been slacking lately... I'm writing this at 2/3/4/4:30am. I do love my readers!**

**oOoOo**

Today was the day. The test deciding whether I was intelligent enough to become a part of Erudite for the rest of my life was today and I—like approximately 80 percent of the other initiates, based on their auras—was terribly nervous. I wanted to belong here.

But according to my aptitude test, I also belonged in Amity and Candor.

I would have to stop thinking about my aptitude test, and realize that I chose what I chose. I was happy that I chose Erudite—now I just needed to pass the test.

But I couldn't let my guard down. I was deemed Divergent because of the test. The government supposedly thinks I'm dangerous. I believe that if the government has any suspicions about me already, then ranking high would draw attention to me. I need to avoid that.

Then again, who am I to think that I even could place near the top? I guess I'll have to wait until the test and I can see what the leaders will be asking of us.

"Good morning soon-to-no-longer-be-initiates! I hope you all slept well…" Chris McLean announced with a chuckle. From his tone I believe he knows that not many of us slept well, mostly from anxiety. "The test will commence at noon in the library. The list of who is accepted into and who is cut from Erudite will be up tomorrow. I wish you all good luck." The PA system crackled to static and then went silent.

There was five hours until the test. I heard Heather groan from her bed. "Ugh. That Chris is such a liar. 'I hope you all slept well.' 'I wish you all good luck.' What a… what a… whatever. It's too early." She tried, and failed to insult Chris.

"It's seven, Heather. We have five hours until the test. Are you even nervous?" Courtney inquired.

"Of course I am. You would have to be stupid not to be." She answered honestly.

"Quite on the contrary, Heather. You would have to be stupid—and you really mean ignorant—in order to be nervous. To be what you call 'stupid' would be to have a lack of knowledge, which suggests that one would not know enough to pass the test." An Erudite-born girl explained, mildly-irritated, as if the mistake was obvious.

"Are you done, Nose? Or are you going to continue this _truly engaging_ explanation?" Heather replied mockingly.

"Nose?" I asked Courtney quietly.

"A play on words. Knowledge, knows, nose. It's like calling Amity 'Pansy' or Abnegation 'Stiff.'" She explained with a flick of her wrist. "I don't know, I didn't come up with it." Courtney continued, rolling her eyes. "Heather just likes to get under people's skin—or try to, anyway. Maybe her goal is just to be annoying, but she just… irks me in ways I don't even understand." She finished through gritted teeth. Her aura showed that something happened between them a while ago.

I figured that maybe now was the best time to ask.

"I gotta use the bathroom." Courtney muttered. "Wanna come with me?" she asked. The Erudite-born was now in an argument with Heather about God-knows-what. I nodded.

The bathroom was set in between the girls' room and the boys' room. There was still a girl's bathroom separate from the boys, however. Courtney and I were the only ones in it.

She splashed some cold water on her face. I figured now was the best time to ask.

"Courtney? May I ask you something?" I started tentatively.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?" She asked with a forced smile.

"Well, what happened between you and Heather? Anyone can see that your anger for each other runs deep and started long ago."

"You really want to know that? It isn't the most exciting story ever, or a question I even have a clear answer to." She sighed. "Okay."

oOoOo

Courtney told me the sad story of what happened between them. It started when they were twelve years old. They were good friends at one point, but all it took was one bad game of "Dare"—a classic Dauntless game made up of daring each other to do crazy or embarrassing tasks. Courtney told me that there was usually alcohol involved—to mar that friendship forever. It started off simple: get a new tattoo or piercing (both girls got small tattoos, Courtney acquired a small butterfly on her shoulder, Heather a snake on her ankle), or jump from the roof that initiates must for their first test of bravery (there was always a net at the bottom, but the younger Dauntless often did not know about it) but the game soon turned serious. The dares became more dangerous, and the risk of injury increased.

Everything was reasonably okay until one of that year's current initiates José, a brother of Heather's then-crush Alejandro, dared the younger players to go through their fear landscape. They agreed, of course. Jose could hook them up to the machine properly—his mother had trained initiates before and taught him how to set it up—and Alejandro volunteered to go first. Everyone gathered around a monitor so they could watch him go through it and see his fears. He ended up having eleven fears (the average was ten to fifteen). José went next and had ten fears. Heather went third and had fourteen fears, but when she came out of it, she was really shaken up but tried to play it off as collected. Courtney dreaded it and waited to go last. She had twenty-one fears and took almost half an hour to get through it—the longest time and most fears out of everyone who went—and she was a quivering mess afterwards. José tried to comfort her, and Courtney expected Heather to comfort her as well, since they were friends, but Heather started taunting her for what she considered "cowardice." Most of the others joined in with vicious teasing and hurtful comments, except for José—who claimed to have trouble when he first went through, but that was clearly a lie—and a few others.

When Courtney asked Heather about laughing at her later, Heather responded with "We _were_ friends before 'cause I never realized what a coward you were."

"But can't we still be friends, Heather? I'm still the same Courtney that I was before." Courtney asked sadly.

"That may be true, but now everyone knows what a coward you really are. I can't be friends with a coward like you."

"But… I saw that you were scared after the fear landscape, too!" Courtney pointed out. "It's okay to be scared. José said he was when he first went through his."

"You thought he was serious? He was just trying to make you feel better, because some strong people feel the need to comfort the weak ones." She sneered cruelly. "Yeah, it may be normal to be shaken up after, but not to be freaking out. Or to have twenty-one fears."

"B-but…"

"You don't belong in Dauntless. I just never realized it until now." Heather finished and walked away, leaving poor Courtney alone.

oOoOo

"Then what happened, Courtney?" I asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. She had a tear rolling down her cheek at the memory.

"She treated me like garbage for years. I guess I faded from her mind a little—but that isn't too surprising, given how much I avoided her." Courtney laughed bitterly. I try to avoid fighting with her, but she just makes it so hard, Dawn. Now if we fight again, we both get kicked out."

"Did you transfer to escape Dauntless?" I had to know.

"No, I transferred because I thought I belonged more in Erudite than Dauntless. I really am happy with my choice, I just wish Heather would have stayed." She said honestly.

"I really do think you will place higher than her, Courtney." I said confidently. "You belong here."

"Thanks, Dawn. I'm glad to have one female friend I can really talk to again." She smiled, then laughed. "I was one of the first people to talk to you after the ceremony, and I corrected you on saying 'their' instead of 'our' when referring to our faction's initiation. Now you are one of the most assimilated transfers I know! Other than Cameron, of course. Are all Amity geniuses?"

"No," I laughed in return. "I guess we do fit in here. I like it here, too." I thought of all of the good things I had come to know or have here: Friends, the ability to access my full intelligence, the possibility of love. Love. B.

But I couldn't love him. I couldn't put him in danger. And my friends didn't know about my little… quirk. Well, Cameron knew I could read auras, and B knew, too, which just left Cody and Courtney as the friends who didn't know. I should tell them. I'm sure they won't care.

"What are you thinking?" Courtney interrupted my thoughts.

I took a breath. "Courtney, you told me what happened, and now I must tell you something…"

"What is it?"

I looked around to make sure we were alone. "I can read auras."

"Auras? Wait, so Heather did hear you correctly when you said all that stuff about her?" She looked more curious than anything. I felt relief wash over me.

"Yes. Do you know who she lost? Her aura showed that she lost someone close to her."

"Yeah. In the Dauntless compound, we have this thing called the chasm. It's basically a giant, well, chasm, in the middle of the compound. It is really deep with rushing water and sharp rocks, and every year, someone falls in or jumps—and no one has ever survived. The height alone would kill someone, but with the rocks and water… anyway, Heather's five-year-older brother Damien was messing around drunk with friends, and somehow he fell in. This was before everything happened, when we were eleven. They discovered his body in the morning. It crushed Heather, and I comforted her. He was an initiate. They were really close." She laughed bitterly. "The whole time she was sniffling over him, she kept asking me if it made her a coward. I always said no. I still believe it wasn't a show of cowardice."

After a moment of silence, I spoke. "We should probably go to breakfast. The boys might be wondering where we are."

"Yeah, we should go."

oOoOo

In the cafeteria, we were all nervously picking at breakfast. None of us took that much food and the little that we took was barely getting eaten.

It was nine o' clock when we left breakfast. I went to go study, and many others did the same.

I re-read the Erudite history book one last time before I turned it back in. Erudite had anyone who checked out a book from the library before the test had to return it also before the test, in case they did not make it in.

As I was reading, I found my mind wanting to drift, as it would when I meditated in Amity. I tried to suppress it and focus on the book, before I realized that I should just meditate now so I do not drift during the test. It may calm my nerves as well.

The room was empty, so I went back to my bed and sat cross-legged, with the book open on my lap in case I needed a quick excuse if someone walked in. I cleared my mind and focused on my breathing. I felt myself loosening up mentally and physically, and allowed my mind to relax for the first time in days.

…

"Attention initiates-that-are-almost-not-initiates-anymore, the test is in half an hour. You may report to the library early, and I ask that you please return any checked out library materials prior to the test. McLean… out."

I was meditating for two-and-a-half hours? I guess I was more out of order than I thought….

Oh well. I might as well go to the library early. I certainly feel more awake and focused now. The meditation did me well.

About half of the initiates were already there, and I saw Cody and B among them. I turned in the book and joined them.

"Hey, Dawn! Isn't this crazy? The biggest test of our lives is in 28 minutes, 37 seconds, 35, 34, 33…" Cody started.

"Yes, Cody, it is very exciting. Are you nervous?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Heck yeah. Who isn't?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. How about you, B?" I asked him as well. He gave a nervous look and tugged at his collar, and then smiled. Cody and I laughed.

After Courtney and Cameron joined us, it was time to take our alphabetically organized seats.

Chris passed out the test—once again flanked by Scarlett. "Here are your tests. They contain questions covering a wide variety of subjects. And, also, all tests are the same, so no one can accuse me of favoring the Erudite-born, or favoring the transfers, or select individuals, or whatever. The test is 100 questions long, containing 10 multiple choice questions scattered throughout, 89 short answers, and one essay. If I catch anyone cheating, they will be immediately exiled from Erudite. You have three hours, good luck." He finished, and we began.

Question 1. Which of the five are the essential factions?

Easy, Erudite and Amity. We were taught in Faction History that they are considered such because they provide the city with vital resources: education and technology, and food and water.

The questions did get harder and less obvious. When I was finally done, I was relieved yet concerned; I knew I would not place at the top, but did not know if I would even place. I felt like I would make it, but of course there was no way to be sure until tomorrow when the list of who was staying and who was leaving went up.

We were all quiet at dinner, and I tried my best to fall asleep that night, but it is hard to fall asleep when you have no idea what happens next in your life.


	9. Chapter 9: The List Goes Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series**

**oOoOo**

I woke up at 5:30 this morning. It was still dark out, but I could see the first rays of light beginning to streak through the sky from the horizon up. There was still an hour and a half until Chris's wake-up call so I decided to step outside for a little bit.

The cool morning air felt wonderful and helped to clear my head. I walked to the park that was right near Erudite headquarters and sat on a bench to watch the sunrise. I closed my eyes for a moment and let myself fully relax—no worrying about either test, no worrying about who would make it in and who wouldn't. I needed to really take a break from it all, but I knew that if I did make it, then I could let go of some of my worries.

I opened my eyes and focused on where the sun soon would be: the sky was lightening up bit by bit, into the most beautiful mix of colors I had ever seen. Although, I had rarely seen a mix of colors before, aside from Amity's red and yellow, as even faction décor rarely combined colors.

I was almost brought to tears as the sky turned a rainbow of reds, yellows, and blues. I realized why my parents had named me Dawn, then. I was literally in the sky, and they must have known I would turn out how I did. Maybe my father raised me to be smarter than I realized, as I noticed at past Choosing Ceremonies that often times Candor transfers went to Erudite—though more often they chose Dauntless—and Erudite often chose Candor. True knowledge requires honesty, I suppose.

I watched the sunrise for a while until I felt a presence beside me. I looked and it was Scarlett, Chris's Erudite-leader-in-training.

"Greetings, Dawn. I hope you have enjoyed Erudite so far." She said quietly.

"Yes. I truly hope I have made it in. I am finally able to access my full mental potential here. In Amity, happiness is more important than intelligence, so I guess I never had the chance." I answered honestly.

"That is why you transferred, I believe?" she asked. I examined her aura closer; it was a bit softer-colored than I had expected it to be, but I suspected it was simply because she was a quieter person.

"Yes. I suppose I wanted more in life than just to be happy." I liked her aura, I decided. "Were you from Erudite, Scarlett?"

"Yes. Truthfully, I have always wanted to be Erudite leader. I feel that I could improve our Faction in any way possible, as in extending the first and second mental training stages. One day is not enough time to absorb the given materials in the preferred fields of study. It has been proven. Also, our general test scores have gone down since Chris shortened them to one day for each." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Agreed. I feel that I did not do well, and that not many people did as well as they were hoping to." I said, thinking of Courtney. I hoped she made it in to Erudite. I felt she would.

"Exactly. Well, I must be going, Dawn. Chris would like to see me. Farewell, and I wish you and your friends well." She added as she left.

I sat outside until about 6:30 and then went back to the compound. It took me a moment to realize that I was still in my pajamas—a light-blue knee-length cotton nightgown. I got back to the room and put on my regular day clothes.

Sure enough, at 7:00 exactly, Chris came on with his morning announcement. "Good morning initiates-who-will-be-initiates-for-only-three-more-hours! The list will of who-placed-where, and who-is-cut and who-made-it will be up at ten. I hope some of you have a nice final Erudite meal." He said with a hint of mocking laughter.

I sighed. I had a bad feeling about today.

In breakfast, the five of us sat together again. Even Cameron seemed nervous, even with constant reassurance from the rest of us that he was fine. Like the previous day, not much breakfast was eaten by any given initiate. I picked at a blue-berry muffin and tried to drink a whole glass of the Erudite soda, which wasn't bad once I got used to the sweetness of it.

After breakfast, I decided to tell B how I really felt, given that it might be the last chance I had.

I pulled him aside in one of the rarely used hallways on the way back to our rooms. "B…" I started. This was even harder than telling him that I could read auras, maybe because there were bigger possible consequences in telling him I liked him—the consequences that had kept me from telling him earlier.

"B, I..." I couldn't look him in the eye, though when I stopped and looked he looked back curiously. If he didn't like me back, I would just be making a fool of myself. Although, I had a better feeling about telling him this than I had about today in general.

"I like you." I finally said. He looked confused, and I realized that I had not said enough. "I mean, I _really _like you." He still looked confused, until he realized what I was trying to say. He raised his eyebrows in realization. I couldn't tell how he felt, though, and his aura didn't reveal much.

"So, I need to know, do you like me as well?" I asked, at the risk of sounding desperate. "I had to ask now because, well, what if I don't make it in… and we never see each other again… I had to tell you. So d—"

He had placed a gentle kiss on my cheek—effectively cutting me off and answering my question at the same time. All thoughts of dragging him down with me vanished in that moment. I threw my arms around his neck, because it seemed like the right thing to do. I whispered "Thank you" in his ear, and let go.

He then looked me in the eye and mouthed _"You _will _make it." _

"I hope so, B. I hope we both do…"

oOoOo

9:55. Our initiate class is anxiously waiting in the library, with a few older siblings of the Erudite-born as well.

I was one of the last to arrive, and Courtney came up to me.

"Where were you? You are always one of the first here." She asked me nervously. I cast a furtive glance at B, who Cody and Cameron were "talking" with. Courtney saw me look. She raised her eyebrows. "Oh… so you _do_ like him. I knew it." She announced, whispering.

Cody, Cameron and B came over to us. "Is anyone else slightly nauseous with anxiety?" Cameron asked. Courtney and I laughed, thinking it was a joke. "I'm serious." He said, wincing a bit.

"Come on, if anyone shouldn't be nervous, it's you, Cam." Cody reassured him.

At 9:59, Chris came into the library with his assistant, Hatchet, and Scarlett, and all conversation ceased. B was standing next to me, and he covertly took my hand. I squeezed it gently to let him know I was okay with it.

"Alright! I have the list on a file, which is on my computer, which is hooked up to a projector, which will project the list onto this blank wall in 37 seconds. 36, 35, 34—" Chris dragged out, just to make us more nervous.

"I can tell you that twelve of you made it into Erudite, just over half—not absolutely terrible, but not good either. We have had worse years, I think. But there are still eleven that did not make it. Three of them have menial faction labor." He said.

_That makes twenty-three initiates. There were twenty-four to start with. Brick… it's like he never even existed, _I thought sadly.

I looked at the clock. 15 seconds, 14, 13, 12…

It took me a moment to realize that the others were counting down aloud, so I joined in.

"Nine, eight, seven, six…" Even B was mouthing along.

At exactly ten, the wall lit up.

_Welcome to Erudite:_

1. Wilkins, Cameron

2. Zemer, Noah

3. Bennet, Abigail

4. Landers, B

I scan down the list and see that B made it. Thank God he did. I feel tears line my eyes as I continue down.

5. McGrady, Harold

6. Garcia, Courtney

7. Wintergreen, Dawn

_I made it. I _do _belong here._ I smiled and looked up at B. We both made it. Courtney made it, too. Cameron placed first, unsurprisingly.

8. Mesher, Valerie

9. Drey, Heather

10. Anole, Jacob

11. Mesher, Shane

Cody's name has not been on the list yet. I squeezed B's hand. There was only one slot left. _Please, let him have made it…_

12. Fenir, Emma

Cody did not make it. No, not my friend. One of my first real friends. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

_The Following Three are Offered Menial Work:_

13. Anderson, Cody

No… At least he is not immediately rendered Factionless, I hope…

14. Pallow, Jane

15. Aersch, Lee

_The Rest Are Now Factionless, As They Have Failed:_

16. Shank, Miles

17. Jones, Topher

18. Torres, Monica

19. Neason, Gregory

20. Bennet, Lorenzo

21. Lewis, Taylor

22. Wright, Marie

23. Nelson, Adam

The room is silent while everyone processes what they have just seen. Some have lost family, some have lost friends. Nearly everyone looks shocked.

Cody was _so close. _

I look at him, and he is staring at the list with tears in his eyes.

He is not the first one to break the silence; an Erudite-born breaks down in tears. She must have failed. Poor thing, the Erudite-born were not even totally prepared.

Now that the silence is broken, I hear sobs and I see one boy run out of the room. Chris looks at Hatchet, and Hatchet goes out after the boy, returning shortly with him in tow.

Another boy, dressed similar to Chris pleads, "Chris, please let me be in Erudite! I'll be your servant if I have to be! Just let me stay!"

"Topher, I can't help that you failed the test. I can't change how you studied, and I can't change your score." Chris coldly turned his back on him with that. He even ignored the "You're my idol, Chris! All I ever wanted was to be like you!" that followed.

_How can he be so indifferent?_ Almost half of our lives changed drastically, and he doesn't even seem to care!

I can't help myself; I go to where Cody is standing, as he moved up to the list on the wall. I hear him softly whispering "No" over and over.

"Cody…" I start.

"How? I thought I could make it." He asked sadly.

"Cody, everyone thought they could make it. At least you have a job." I tried to console him.

"Cleaning lab equipment for the rest of my life, Dawn! That's what the 'menial jobs' are. Clean lab equipment, or be Factionless."

"I'm sor—" I started, but he cut me off.

"It's easy to be sorry when you made it." That shut me up. I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You are right, Cody, but please realize that everyone has lost someone because of this test. Look. Cameron, B, Courtney, and I lost you; Abigail Bennet lost her brother; friends are saying goodbye." All around the room, people were embracing either for the last time or out of relief, but I noticed that all of the initiates' auras were tinged with sadness.

"Really? Because some of these people look pretty happy to me." Cody stated skeptically. Then I realized that I never told him I could read auras. This would be my last chance.

"You must believe me Cody, because I can tell what they are feeling."

"How, exactly?"

"Because I can read auras." This time was easier than when I told the others. I suppose being rushed will do that.

"Really? I would lie and say I know what that means, but, well, what _does_ it mean?" He asked. I could not tell exactly how he was feeling.

"In short, I can see how people feel. I know it may sound strange, but…" I trailed off. I didn't know how to continue.

I did not have to, however, when the rest of our friends came over to console Cody.

"How are you doing?" Cameron asked tentatively.

"Well, at least I'm not immediately Factionless, I guess." He looked at me, and I realized that those were nearly my exact words.

"Yeah. We'll miss you, Cody." Courtney said, touching his shoulder.

"We all will." Cameron stated.

"And now that you have processed the list, Hatchet will take the ones who have failed, and Scarlett will take the three that passed with poor scoring." Chris informed us. "The ones that have made it in, please stay here with me until they return."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, guys." Cody said.

"Good luck, though I feel we will see each other again in passing." I said. I really felt like we would.

"I hope so." He whispered as he was led away and out of the room by Scarlett.

Heather came over to the four of us. "So, good job, I guess" she said dismissively, though I could tell she meant it. "I guess you Pansies aren't _all_ idiots after all. And Courtney… you finally beat me at something." A smirk formed on her face. "But don't get used to it. If your friend was anything to go by, none of you are as smart as you seem."

Courtney lunged forward, and I grabbed her arm to snap her out of it. "Courtney, focus." I whispered.

She calmed down, as a grin formed on her face. "You know, Heather, none of us may be as _intelligent_ as we think, but I belong here more than you do, as the test showed that I am more intelligent than you. Maybe I didn't belong in Dauntless, but I sure as hell belong here." _More than you do,_ she wanted to say, but—thankfully—didn't. I could hold Courtney back, but I wasn't sure about Heather.

Hatchet and Scarlett came back in. Chris saw them and announced "Congratulations, Erudite members!" reserved cheers rose up from around the room. "As a special treat, there will be a welcome banquet in the cafeteria. Following that, you will be given individual apartments."

Cheers rose up around the room. We were finally able to relax. The twelve of us made it in.

On our way to the cafeteria the four of us walk together. I realize that I am still holding B's hand, but I do not pull away. I focused on the fact that we had both made it in, instead of the fact that I went against my own rule of not allowing myself to fall for him for his sake. I was just so relieved that I did not care at the moment.

In the cafeteria, there was the largest spread of food I had ever seen: various meats, more fruits and vegetables than I had ever seen in one room, fish, pastas, cheeses, and so many other things it made me wonder how Erudite could have obtained it all.

We piled our plates with food after we realized how hungry we were and how little we really ate in the past two days from nerves. The four of us sat at a table for five, but then Heather came over.

"You guys know you do have to move on, right? Cody just wasn't smart enough, and I suggest you forget about him." She smirked.

Courtney narrowed her eyes at Heather, but didn't move to attack. I took that as a good sign—it meant she was becoming more Erudite and less Dauntless.

"Heather, don't you have other people to annoy?" she said dismissively.

Heather didn't expect such a laid-back response and was taken back. "Well, y-yeah, but you guys are way more fun to mess with." She recovered.

I decided to say what I thought. It couldn't hurt too much. "Heather, you must acknowledge that you really are not in Dauntless anymore. You chose Erudite, so please act like it. Being in Erudite means being mature enough to deal with any knowledge that you may uncover. We realize that Cody is no longer in the normal faction, and we wish him luck. We have moved on, and you must as well."

"Wow." I heard Courtney say. I dared not to look away from Heather's eyes. I was not challenging her; I was trying to make her see reason.

Apparently it worked, for she turned and left the table. I looked back at Courtney. Her eyebrows were raised in surprise and her moth hung slightly agape. "I wish I was composed enough to have said something like that, Dawn. No one has stood up to her before like that."

"You still can change, Courtney. This is a new life here, and it is never too late to start anew." I said.

Our lunch went smoothly after that. Courtney already knew that I liked B, so I didn't hide it. I held his hand over the table after, when we were just talking again.

Chris came in. It was time to get our new apartments.

They were on the other side of the compound. We would get actual houses when we were twenty-one, he said. We were able to choose our apartments. Mine was on the bottom floor, in between B and Courtney. Cameron was on the other side of Courtney.

I walked in to my new apartment. It had a marble-tile floor, a private bathroom, a stocked snack bar and refrigerator, a light-blue couch, a closet with clothes for women as well as men—considering that we could choose any apartment, they needed to be stocked with both,—and a simple yet comfortable bed with dark-blue blankets.

All of the apartments were the same, but we decided to all go over to Courtney's place for a while.

At night, when we returned to our own rooms, I pulled on a sleep shirt and shorts, and laid down on my bed. I may end up dragging B down with me, but at least I did not place too high—and, hopefully, diverted any special attention on me from the government.

I just wondered how Cody would be, wherever he was taken. I needed to stop worrying about him. He may not have placed high enough, but I knew he was still smart enough to get through whatever happened.


	10. Chapter 10: Lies and Discoveries

**Chapter ten is here! I would like to make an announcement regarding future chapters: (Note that this may change) there will be around fifteen chapters in the first book, Total Divergence. Then I will go to book two, Total Insurgence. I will most likely have a third as well (Total Allegiance).**

**I will also say that there will be spoilers for the **_**Divergent**_** trilogy as the plot in my story progresses, meaning that if you only read **_**Divergent**_**, there will be **_**Insurgent **_**and**_** Allegiant**_** spoilers. (Same goes for if you have only read the first two.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**oOoOo**

Not long after I fell asleep, I was woken by the sound of a loud thunderstorm. I could see lightning out of the window near my door. I had always liked thunderstorms.

I watched the lightning from my bed, and I was about to fall back asleep, when I heard a knock at my door. I jumped out of bed and ran to the door. _Who could be out in this storm?_ I wondered as I opened the door to find a soaked and trembling Courtney standing outside. It looked like there were tears in her eyes, but it was hard to tell because of the rain.

"Courtney! Oh God, get in here!" I shouted over a clap of thunder. She ran inside without a word. Courtney curled up on the floor and covered her ears with her hands. I sat with her until the storm subsided about an hour later.

When she finally composed herself, I spoke. "Are you alright? Are you afraid of thunderstorms?" I asked quietly.

"Not thunderstorms. J-just thunder. I don't know w-why." She shivered. "It was one of m-my _many _fears in my landscape." After a moment, she spoke again. "Thanks. I couldn't go to Heather, or either of the guys, and I'm glad you don't think I'm weak. You don't, d-do you?" she asked quickly.

"Of course not. Everyone has fears; they just deal with them differently. I'm sure Heather has bad fears, too." I said. She had to.

"She does. Confinement is her worst fear. And spiders." She said, starting to feel better. "You know, I think we have a free day tomorrow. Well, I guess every day could be a free day until we are assigned jobs.

"Do you know when visiting day is?" she asked.

"No. I hope Chris will tell us. Do you miss your family, Courtney?" I asked her.

"Yes. But I don't think they will come to visit. They didn't think I would leave."

"I'm sure they will visit. I hope my family comes as well. My father was from Candor, and I don't know whether he thought I would stay." I told her.

"I'm sure he will." She reassured me. "You remember Brick, right? The Abnegation transfer that disappeared?" Courtney asked me suddenly.

"Yes. Why? Do you know what happened?" I questioned.

"No, but I feel bad for him, wherever he is. He's probably better off, though. One, he seemed very… erratic. Two, Erudite has had a rocky relationship with Abnegation for a while now. Erudite believes that the extra food that Abnegation gets that should go to the Factionless is actually consumed by the Abnegation. It has been in the paper for a while."

"Really? I never read the papers that Erudite released when I was in Amity." I admitted. I really had never thought to read it, but I found myself now wishing that I had.

"Oh. I guess I thought that you would have known. So, do you have any idea of where he is? Brick, I mean." She asked.

"I talked to another Abnegation transfer, Zoey—she went to Dauntless—and she said that he was acting strange after the aptitude test. I believe he…"

"Divergent?" my eyes widened.

"You believe in it?" I asked, trying to hide my nervousness. I spent so much time worrying about trying to hide my Divergence from the people who could kill me, that I forgot to hide it from my friends.

"Well, yeah. It could very well exist. But that was not what I asked, Dawn."

"Then what did you ask? If you asked whether or not I thought Brick was Divergent, then the answer is yes, I did." I said as calmly as possible.

"Dawn, that isn't what I asked. I may be from Dauntless, but I belong here. I am more intelligent than people think I am, and with intelligence comes perceptiveness. I noted your behavior, and I noticed that you do not only act like Erudite, but still like Amity as well. I let go of Dauntless principles as much as possible, whereas you tried to let go of Amity but couldn't." I felt a coldness sink into my stomach. "When you told me about reading auras, I realized just how well you could fit into Candor."

"I-I don't…"

"Dawn, I read B's first note that he gave you, and I'm sorry. I read the Erudite book, too—the chapter on Divergence—and it all fit together. Dawn, I know you are D—"

"Excuse me." I got up to use the bathroom, even though I didn't have to go. _How could I be so stupid? I shouldn't have chosen Erudite. Bethany was right. If I am found out by the wrong person, I could die._ I thought for a moment, and then went back out to where Courtney was. I found myself glancing around, unsure what I was looking for, but then it hit me—cameras. Why wouldn't there be any here?

"Dawn, I won't tell anyone. Just please tell me if you are." She pleaded. "I need to know that my thought process is correct."

I took a breath. "No Courtney, I am not. I'm sorry. My test result was Amity." Her face fell; she really believed me.

"B-but how could I be wrong? You fit so well into all three… I was ranked sixth! I was ranked above you, how could I have gotten this wrong?"

_I guess I don't fit so well into Candor… _I thought sadly. I really didn't want to lie to one of my best friends, but I had to, in case we _were_ being monitored. "Courtney…"

"I'm going back to my place. Night." She left without another word. I thought I saw tears of frustration in her eyes.

oOoOo

In the morning, the four of us went to breakfast. Courtney seemed better in the morning. On the way, we saw Cody in the hallway wearing a lab coat.

"Cody, how are you?" I asked. He looked alright, just tired. It was hard to get a good read on his aura—it seemed to have faded from the last time I saw it, though it would not be surprising for it to have, with all of the emotional changes he had undergone recently.

"I'm good, I guess. Cleaning lab equipment is boring, but we get regular food and beds. It is better than being Factionless, by all means."

I remembered something. I never asked him about the truth serum, though I suppose it was no longer important. "So, how are you guys?"

"Not bad. We got apartments, at least." Courtney said.

After an uncomfortable silence, she cleared her throat. "I guess we should go."

"Yeah. I have to get going, too." He said.

When the four of us started walking towards the cafeteria I felt a piece of paper slip into my hand. I glanced at it, and it read "Meet me here after dinner tonight. I found something big, and I think you should know what it was. It would be better if you came alone, but if you have to bring B, Cameron, and Courtney, you can, but do not tell anyone else. –Cody."

What could he have found, I wondered. And why did he think that I would be most interested?

oOoOo

Breakfast was thankfully uneventful today, considering that Heather was not there, though I did see her walk in through a different entrance as we were leaving. The only thing that happened was that Chris did announce that Visiting Day would be tomorrow.

I was trying to decide whether or not to tell the others about the note. I was leaning towards yes, but if I decided against it, I reasoned that I could always tell them later.

Whatever I decided, I knew I had several hours to decide.

After breakfast, I wanted to take a walk with Courtney. The boys decided to stay behind.

"Courtney, I'm sorry about last night." I said. I wanted to resolve any tension or anger that she still felt.

"It's alright. I was more frustrated with myself than with anyone else. I just thought that…"

"I know. Even the most straight-forward of knowledge can occasionally be misleading."

"Thanks. So, what's B like? How is he really?" she asked.

"He never talks, but we communicate with notes. I am not sure if he just doesn't like talking, or cannot talk. I never thought to ask." I said. "He's really sweet, though."

"You two do make such a cute couple." She told me.

"So, what was Duncan like?" I asked to change the subject.

Courtney sighed. "He was one of the few Dauntless that didn't hate me or call me a coward after my fear landscape. I had sort of a crush on him before that, but I saw that one of his fears was having to kill something utterly helpless, and, well… he showed me his softer side every so often. When we got together, we only had a year before the Choosing Ceremony. It was an amazing year, what with Heather beginning to ignore me in addition to being with Duncan.

I told him that I was going to leave Dauntless for Erudite. He wasn't surprised. But, he knew his place was in Dauntless, and neither one of us blamed the other for not choosing the same faction and staying together. I miss him, but he belonged there. And…" she smiled. "And I belong here."

Duncan sounded nice, but when I saw him in school, he did not look like someone that I would be friends with. I sensed that Courtney was finished talking.

oOoOo

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. I had decided not to tell the others about the note and meeting Cody. I figured that I would be fine on my own.

After dinner, I told the rest of us that I was going to explore the compound by myself for a little bit.

When I got to where we saw Cody earlier, I waited for a few minutes, and then saw another transfer who must have worked with him coming towards me. They handed me a note.

"Room S23. Knock twice, then three times. –Cody"

I found room S23 which was just a little while down the hallway I was in. I knocked, and Cody slowly opened the door, peered out, and let me in. The lights were off, but some safety lighting softly illuminated the room, which was filled with miscellaneous lab equipment.

"Is it just you?" he whispered once he shut the door.

"Yes. What did you find?" I asked, also whispering.

"To tell you, I need to give some background information. In-between shifts, I am free to look around the compound, with the exception of several rooms that I have only seen three or four different people go into. I have only seen the inside of one of the rooms, which was on accident. I was walking by it early this morning and it was open and empty, so I went inside." He paused for a moment.

"I always knew that Erudite and Abnegation had a problematic relationship, but I never knew that they would do something like this…" he said, barely audible.

I was getting scared. "Cody, who would do what? _What did you see?_"

"You can't tell anyone else, but I saw what I thought were…" he inhaled deeply. "I think I saw war plans."

"What?" I asked. _War_ plans? I felt myself go slack-jawed.

He closed his eyes. "I think Erudite is planning to attack Abnegation."


	11. Chapter 11: Visiting Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series**

**A/N: happy one-year anniversary to me! It's been one year today since I uploaded my very first fanfiction!**

**oOoOo**

"W-war plans? And why would Erudite attack Abnegation, of all factions?" I asked Cody, bewildered.

"I don't know, Dawn. I really don't know. I don't even know whether or not they actually _were_ war plans or not. They just really looked like it, and, well, we haven't been in Erudite that long, so we don't know their motives." What he said both calmed me down a bit, yet also set me on edge. We really _were_ in the dark in Erudite.

"Wait, you said you saw people going into that room. Do you know who they were?" I asked. If I could find out who they were, maybe this would all make sense.

"I couldn't see them very well, but it looked like Chris, Hatchet, and someone else. Maybe two others."

Chris. He was supposedly behind getting rid of the Divergent. Hatchet. He was Chris's right-hand man, undoubtedly scarier than Chris, but I did not read his aura well. He was a complex man for sure, certainly capable of violence, but I'm not sure if he actually would murder.

"Please, Cody. You have to try to remember who the others were. Heather came in late to breakfast today… do you think—"

"It could have been. What did her hair look like? I just saw silhouettes when they went in and out." He said.

I thought back to this morning. "I think it was in a ponytail. I did not see her much, though."

"It may have been. What was she wearing?" he asked.

"Um, she was wearing dark blue. It looked like a collared shirt." I said. "Cody, we have to tell someone about this."

"Who? Chris? Scarlett, who is a direct link to Chris? Hatchet?" he asked sarcastically. "You don't think that I've tried thinking of someone to tell? You were the only one I could think of. You and the other three are the only ones that I would hope wouldn't tell anyone."

"Well, tomorrow's visiting day, if I told my parents, then they could…" I trailed off. They were from Amity, but what would they do? I'm sure that they would try to stop it. I just don't know how they could.

"Exactly. We can't tell anyone." He took a breath. "I'm asking you this not because I have suspicions, but because I need someone who is one. Are you Divergent?"

"Why would you need a Divergent?"

"I've disabled the cameras in this room. Are you Divergent?" he asked again.

I hesitated. He was from Candor, but maybe I could lie and not have it detected. It was dark in the room… "No."

"Dawn, I need you to be honest with me. I promise I've disabled everything."

"…I am." I finally said.

"You are being honest, or you are Divergent?"

"Divergent."

"I believe you. What were your test results?"

"Amity, Erudite, and Candor." I answered. "What do you need a Divergent for, Cody?"

"I think I know a way to change the outcome of the possible war. It will require an army of Divergent that are willing to rebel against Erudite, and possibly the entire faction system." He said. I stopped. The words that Cody was now speaking did not sound like Cody. The pauses, the way that it sounded like he was trying to remember, even the way he fidgeted in a way that would be passed off as normal—to anyone that wasn't Candor.

"Cody?"

"Yes?"

"How did you get this information on changing the war?" he did not expect me to ask that.

"I-um…"

I did not feel safe anymore. That final speech felt too rehearsed. "I should go." I got up to leave.

"Dawn, I'm not—"

"Thanks for the information about the war plans." I said shortly, walking out and back to my apartment.

I laid down on my bed. _War plans?_ He seemed to be telling the truth during the first part of our conversation. I believed him.

But the Divergent army? He sounded like he was reciting words from memory, but whose words?

oOoOo

The next morning, this year's class of new Erudite members stayed in the cafeteria after breakfast.

"Attention, new Erudite members! As you should know, today is Visiting Day. You may see your families today, if they show up. Not all do. They will be here around noon, so get emotionally ready, transfers! Erudite-born… you can always see them later." Chris informed us.

Would my parents even come? I'm sure they would. The Amity don't hold grudges.

"Chris?" another new Erudite asked. "How will they know who was cut from Erudite? What if parents show up, and their son or daughter is no longer in the faction?" I recognized her. She was Abigail Bennet, the girl whose brother had failed the test.

"Well, they will be in for quite a rude awakening, seeing as their son or daughter did not score high enough to be part of our illustrious faction." He answered. He was so uncaring—maybe it was not such a stretch to think that he would not be above murder. For all I know, he killed Brick—a most likely Divergent Abnegation.

"But…"

"Oh well." He said.

oOoOo

it was almost noon. Chris had told us to wait at the main entrance—and also not to seem too attached to our parents, because it could be interpreted in the wrong ways. He told us the same thing on the field trip around the city.

I was waiting anxiously with Cameron, Courtney, and B, but he did not think that his parents would visit him. He was never really accepted in Candor.

I saw the first people, a man and woman, walk up to the entrance. They both wore Dauntless black. I heard a boy from the group of initiates shout, and then go up to them. They conversed politely—well, as politely as I had seen a Dauntless converse.

The rest of the parents began filing in. I noticed Heather talking to a woman who I assumed was her mother. She asked what her rank in Erudite was, and Heather answered "third."

"She's lying." A Candor woman said. "Where's my son, Cody?"

I really didn't want to be the one to tell her that her son did not make it into Erudite, but it did not look like anyone else was going to.

"Excuse me?" I asked tentatively. I was not sure how to talk with a Candor. It was odd to think that I could have been wearing black and white right now, and that I would have likely fit in.

"Where is my son?" she asked me. "His name is Cody, he's not much taller than you, he has teal eyes and light-brown hair. Have you seen him?" she asked me once again.

I figured that, since this was a Candor I was dealing with, I should cut straight to the point. "Your son is not in Erudite anymore. He did not score high enough on the admittance test." I said.

"Really?" she asked skeptically. "I knew he should have stayed in Candor." She muttered. "And what place did _you_ come in?"

I thought back. "Seventh." She seemed satisfied with this and moved on.

I saw two couples in Amity red and yellow: mine and Cameron's parents both came.

"Dawn!" my parents called.

I walked over. "Hello. It is so nice to see you again." I said honestly. I don't know why I thought that I didn't want to see them when we visited Amity. They hugged me, and I accepted. It made me realize how unaffectionate that Erudite could be at times.

"Have you made friends here, dear? I hope that you are still friends with Cameron. I know you were friends before." My mother asked.

"Yes. I have made some new ones as well." I looked at Courtney, who was talking with her father, and at B, who was standing alone.

"Well, we're happy for you Dawn." My father said, smiling. "Love, may I talk to our daughter alone for a moment?" my mother smiled warmly in return.

My father took me to the first side-hallway that he found. "How are you really doing, Dawn?"

"I'm doing well, I believe. I placed seventh overall out of twenty-three." I said. He sounded a little worried.

"Good, good. Now, I may never have been Erudite or Abnegation, but I know about the rising tension between the two factions. Just know, that if anything happens, your mom and I are behind any decision that you make. We know you'll choose well."

"Thank you, dad." I felt relieved, so I hugged him. "I should go see if B's parent came to visit." I said, letting go.

"Yes. I hope they came, too." He said sincerely. "But, Dawn, you shouldn't have chosen Erudite."

"What? Why shouldn't I have?" I asked surprised.

"I'm not blind. I know, Dawn." I looked around for any cameras. "It's okay," my father said as he saw me looking. "The cameras are always off in this hallway. One of my childhood friends told me about them."

My father knew what I was. "How did you know?" I asked.

"It's genetic. Both your mother and I are. What was your real aptitude result?"

Both of my parents were Divergent? I suppose that explains why they chose Amity. "Amity. And Erudite, and Candor." I said quietly. I saw a small smile on his face when I mentioned Candor, but then he had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Three results? Did you not pick the knife or cheese?" he asked.

"I picked the cheese. My testing administrator was just as confused as I was."

"Have you told anyone about being Divergent?"

"Just one initiate. My friend Cody. He is from Candor." I answered.

"Okay, but did they promise not to tell anyone?"

I thought back. It never occurred to me that Cody hadn't said that he wouldn't tell. "Well, I never asked Cody not to tell anyone. He said something about a Divergent army and possibly rebelling against the faction system."

"Dawn, what would he need an army for?" he asked skeptically.

He said he discovered war plans. I was going to say that, but I remembered why I couldn't tell him. What could he do? He wasn't the representative of Amity.

"I-I don't know." I decided to say. "He was cut from Erudite, but he still lives here." I felt like I needed to say it.

"Please tell me that you really only told one person."

"I did."

"Alright. We should probably get back." I thought I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye, but then I noticed that one of the ceiling lights had begun to flicker.

"Yes." We started walking back. We took a longer way back, through more secluded halls. When we were once again alone, I asked him, "What were your results?"

"I had Amity and Candor. Your mother had Amity and Abnegation." He answered. I smiled. I had never thought of my mother in Abnegation, but I think it would suit her. She was always quiet and selfless, but she definitely belonged more in Amity.

B was still standing alone when we returned.

"B?" I asked, but he just shook his head.

I didn't know what to say, so I just took his hand. I was debating whether I should tell him about Cody's discovery, and the Divergent army.

I needed to know if B was Divergent, and if so, I would tell him about the war plans. "I need to talk to you later. Come by my apartment before you go to bed." I whispered so that no one else would hear. He nodded solemnly, catching my tone.

oOoOo

I heard a knock at my apartment door. As expected, B stood outside. I saw he had several sheets of paper with him. Good, I would have to write most of what I was going to bring up, since I had a feeling that there were cameras watching us—but maybe I was just being paranoid.

"Come in, B!" I said cheerfully, so that whoever—if anyone—was watching wouldn't think that this "chat" was going to be dangerous.

We both sat on my couch. "B, I have something to tell you, but I need to ask you something first." He handed me a piece of paper and a pen, and I wrote, _"B, when I mentioned the Divergent a while back, I noticed a flicker of fear in your aura. I must know, are you one? Please remember, I can tell if you are lying." _

He read the note, and his face fell slightly. I tried to read his aura, but I could not see it well. I reasoned that it was because of the odd fluorescent lighting. He wrote back, _"I believe I can trust you, so I will be completely honest: yes, I am."_

I stared at the note in amazement. He was. _Well, at least I cannot put him in any more danger than he already is in by being Divergent himself,_ I thought. _But,_ _now that I know, I really should tell him about what Cody found, but first…_ I wrote something down out of curiosity. _"What were your test results?"_

He wrote back, _"Erudite, and Abnegation. I know you are Divergent, also, Dawn. What were your results?" _

I had little trouble answering this, now that I knew he knew, and also because he told me that he was Divergent himself. _"Well, you already know. I was not lying about my results when I told you before. I received Amity, Candor, and Erudite."_

He raised his eyebrows in realization. _"Clever," _he wrote back. _"Now, what did you want to tell me, Dawn?"_

I took a breath and wrote, _"I talked to Cody yesterday. He said he found something that looked like war plans. He thinks that Erudite is planning to attack Abnegation. How would they even accomplish that, B?"_

"_Think about it. If what he saw really were war plans, then for a war, you need an army. There is no army here in Erudite. Where would they get it from?"_

"I-I don't know." I said aloud. They would never get an army from Amity. From Candor, maybe, but unlikely.

_Dauntless._ I heard that the faction trains its members like soldiers, and they make up the city's police force. But how would they get them to fight the Abnegation? I knew that there was at least one initiate from Abnegation in Dauntless, Zoey. I was sure that she would never willingly fight her faction of origin, but how would the Dauntless leaders get them to fight—and the Erudite leader, or someone from the faction, at least, since the plans were discovered in Erudite.

"_The army would come from Dauntless, B. But how or why would they fight Abnegation?" I wrote._

"_I don't know." _He wrote back. _"I really don't know."_

oOoOo

B went back to his apartment shortly after the last note was passed between us. I tried to get some sleep, but my mind kept going back to the same question.

How—or why—would the Dauntless fight Abnegation?

It hit me—they wouldn't fight them. I knew that they wouldn't… of their own free will, at least.

So, how would they be manipulated into doing it?

Suddenly, the Amity part of me broke through. _We have to save the Abnegation. Think of how many lives could be lost with an army of Dauntless against the helpless Abnegation!_

The Erudite part showed through once again. _The best way to protect them is to figure who is behind the war plans, and how they will control the army. _

I agreed with my Erudite side, but I could figure it out more tomorrow. I needed rest for tonight.


	12. Chapter 12: More Information

**Hello, hello! Here's the next (hopefully) thrilling installment of Total Divergence! Only a few chapters left! **_**I'm**_** pretty excited, I'll admit. (Translation: Be afraid, be very afraid…)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series.**

**A/N: I'm so sorry I'm late on this update! ("It was only one day…" Shut up, voice in my head -_-) I was camping and had no access to my laptop. Anyway, I will be posting the next chapter **_**six**_** days from now to make up for it. (Because I like updating on Sundays)**

**oOoOo**

I woke up with lingering thoughts from last night—figure out how whoever is planning to control a Dauntless army, and how they plan to do so, but also try to stop the war. At least I would put B in no more danger than he would already be in.

But the question remained, how would I figure out anything? Maybe I would just have to wait until an opportunity arose. It seemed like a good idea, anyway. Maybe it wasn't as efficient as other ideas, but I would have to go with it. Cody had a good point in not being able to tell anyone outside of our friends, but whose words was he reciting? They certainly weren't his… was this all a trap? Was there even any war about to happen?

I think there was a war brewing. Nothing about his body language or otherwise gave any hints that he was lying when he first told me, but when he said, "Divergent army," something set me on edge.

But was it a trap?

No, I do not think that it was.

I still needed to find out what was going on. I needed to talk to Cody.

oOoOo

I went to the hallway outside of the room we last spoke. I did not want to talk to him, as I still had a bad feeling from the last time we spoke. I hoped that he was around, but it was still early.

To my relief, though, I saw him exit another room down the hall. Cody looked my way and nodded, and we went into the same room as before. He turned the lights on this time.

"How was visiting day?" he asked.

"Okay. Your mother showed up. Neither of B's parents did, though." I said.

"Poor guy. Really, I feel bad for him. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but why did you come back?"

"I told B about what you found." He didn't seem surprised. "We think that Dauntless will be used as an army."

"That makes sense. How else would Erudite obtain an army?" he acknowledged.

"Exactly. So, what do we do about it?" I asked. I wanted to avoid the war, somehow.

"I don't think we can, Dawn. Believe me, I want to, but only a few people know about it, and if we tell the wrong person…"

"Cody, there _has_ to be a way to stop this. We just can't let the Abnegation die!" I felt my frustration rising.

"I'm trying to think of something, here! If you have something, let me know. I've tried, Dawn. I know we have to save Abnegation, but to do so, we have to figure out why Erudite is doing this." He said, trying to calm me down.

"I don't know why. How do we even find out?"

"That's the problem. We can't." I gritted my teeth.

"Cody, how can you just be so relaxed about this? Do you know how many people could die in this if we don't stop it?" I nearly yelled.

"Please calm down, and let me finish. We can't stop it from happening, but if we wait until it happens, we might be able to do something then. I just don't know what." He said exasperated.

"Do you have any idea of when this will happen?"

"No, but I know that it will be soon."

After a moment, a thought came to me. "I haven't told Courtney or Cameron, and I think that they should know. If Erudite _is_ planning to use Dauntless as an army, maybe Courtney has an idea of how it will happen. And Cameron is so smart, I'm sure he could help." I said.

"That makes sense. You can tell them, but bring them here to do so. I can help explain, and I think I'm close to figuring out the time of the war, but I still need time." He stated, making my stomach flip. He was close to finding out when this was going to happen.

"Cody?"

"Hmm?"

"When you told me about the Divergent army, you sounded like you were saying someone else's words. Whose words were they?" I asked.

"I cannot tell you yet. All I can say is that it puts you in no additional danger, and who it is, is on our side. Please believe me." He revealed to me. I was sure that he was telling the truth, but I couldn't read his aura well—or even see it, aside for a few stronger colors. Maybe it was from stress, as seeing an aura was best when one was relaxed. Hopefully that was the reason.

"Alright, Cody. I believe you. But why can you not tell me?"

"You will find out soon, if all works out. About the Divergent army…"

"I would need more information in order to decide." I said.

"I have no other information on that. They said that after the war, everything would make sense. If you wanted to tell Cameron and Cody, you could." He said, trying to change the subject.

"Alright." I said tiredly. I wasn't going to get any more information from him, as I felt like he did not know much else, and I was not going to find out who he was communicating with. "I will bring them by after dinner. Chris said that we will get our assigned jobs tomorrow."

I went to walk out of the room to go to breakfast before any of the others began to wonder where I was. "Thank you." I said earnestly. "I wish we both knew more."

oOoOo

I was the first at breakfast, but the three others arrived at different times. Cameron came next of our group, then B, then Courtney.

Before the cafeteria was full, I told them that I wanted to meet them after dinner in the hallway we saw Cody in, and that he had news for us.

oOoOo

After dinner, I led them back to the hallway, and then to the room. I knocked, and Cody ushered us in.

"Have you told them anything?" he asked me.

"Only B. You said to wait to tell Courtney and Cam." I said, receiving puzzled looks from the three.

"Excuse me, what is this about?" Courtney asked. "And why are we in this room, of all places?"

"Because I disabled the cameras in here. Now, are any of the three of you Divergent?" Cody did not waste any time getting down to business—probably the Candor in him. B was the not only one who raised his hand, Courtney did as well, to the surprise of Cameron—and myself. Why couldn't I detect that she was lying when she said her result? She showed no fear—no anything, really—when I mentioned Divergence.

"Results?" Cody asked.

"Erudite and Dauntless." Courtney said. I was confused. She said that she did not belong there, but then I thought of her anger, and it made a bit more sense.

I answered for him. "Erudite and Abnegation. I received Amity, Erudite, and Candor."

I heard Courtney whisper "I knew it." I apologetically smiled at her.

"What did you want to tell us, Cody?" Cameron asked.

"I wanted to tell you that I discovered what are now confirmed war plans." _Confirmed._ So there will be a war.

"War between who, exactly?" Courtney asked, somewhat skeptically.

"Erudite will attack Abnegation. We cannot stop it, but we can change it." I said.

"And you know this, how?" she asked.

"I met with Cody twice before. He discovered them."

"Courtney, we think that Erudite will use Dauntless as an army." Cody revealed to her.

"What?" she asked, slightly shocked and saddened.

"We need to know how this would be accomplished. Please, think about it." Cody pleaded.

"The serum." She said.

"The what?"

"The simulation serum. They could control all of the faction members' minds at once from afar, and weed out the Divergent at the same time. Their minds are resistant to the simulations." She said.

"Okay, so next, why would they attack Abnegation?" Cody asked.

"Oh, I can try to answer that." Cameron stated. "Well, Erudite values knowledge, and they will protect it or go to many lengths to achieve it. They would not also attack another faction without a reason. The Abnegation must have something that Erudite wants, but what?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Cody said.

"Guys, I think we need an Erudite-born on our team." Courtney spoke up.

"Yeah, someone with 100 percent loyalty to the faction, and who chose to stay with it. That'll work." Cody argued.

"Come on, if we can find one person, they might be able to help." She argued back.

"Alright, who then?"

"Um…" she trailed off on thought. "I know that Noah's smart." She said, referring to the highest-placing Erudite-born. "I don't know how much of him is aligned with Erudite, though." She admitted.

"I'd say a lot. If we can get him on our side, that could be a good thing. He is the second-smartest in our initiate class." Cody said. "But we don't even know if he _would_ join us."

"Maybe we should just ask him." I suggested, earning the expected "_what are you thinking_" look from the group. "I could read his aura beforehand, and try to see what he is about. Most likely, there would be something saying what he aligns with."

"I've heard worse ideas. That could work." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I would hope that I have the chance before this war is initiated." I said. I was worried that it wouldn't work, with me not being able to see auras as well as I could before, but of course I didn't let on.

"Well, you should probably go. Staff will be wondering where I am." Cody said. "I will let you know of any new discoveries."

"Thank you. We will be waiting." Courtney replied as we carefully exited the room. "So, what do you think?" she asked the three of us once we were out of earshot of Cody.

"I think that I should find Noah. Maybe he can help us figure this whole thing out." I say. "We don't know when this war may be, but it will be soon."

"Yeah, but this all seems a little far-fetched. I know that Erudite doesn't like Abnegation, but _war?_" she countered.

"I think that they are capable of it, and that it will happen." Cameron interjected. "Erudite hungers for knowledge and power, what's to stop them from going after it?"

A worried look came upon her face. "Nothing, I guess. Who would rise up against Erudite?"

"Exactly." Cameron said. "Well, we would, but there are currently only five of us. Five cannot rebel against a faction."

"If they do use Dauntless as an army with simulation serum, then we can find who is Divergent in that faction. Maybe they'll join us." Courtney suggested.

"They might." I said, thinking of Zoey. If she was also Divergent, I think that maybe she would join us.

"It's getting late. I think that we should wait until tomorrow to act on this. A good night's sleep will do our mind's well, and we can continue tomorrow." She said. I agreed, all of this worrying about a war had worn me out.

We returned to our apartments and B gave me a good-night kiss which I returned.

I slept fitfully that night, actually sleeping for about twenty-five minutes at a time. I tossed and turned, I paced the room in moments of restlessness, and I tried thinking of what Abnegation could possibly have that Erudite or Chris or whomever would want. I couldn't think of anything.

I laid back down and slept for about a half-hour before I was woken up with a knock at my door. By now, it was nearly light out.

I opened my door, expecting Courtney or B, but instead I found a very panicked and disheveled Cody. I immediately got the cold feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Cody… what is—"

"It's started."

"What?"

"The Dauntless are coming to attack the Abnegation. They're being controlled like Courtney said. They're almost at the Abnegation sector."

"Wait…" I was still so tired that it took a while for my mind to catch up. "The Dauntless…" everything suddenly connected. I felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop, as I lost all feelings of fatigue:

The war had begun.


	13. Chapter 13: The Battle Begins

**Disclaimer: I don't own either series**

**oOoOo**

The war had begun.

"I told the others. Come on, I'll explain once we get there." Cody said, grabbing my arm and pulling me along and into a run.

"Explain what, and where are we going?" I asked as I tried not to trip over loose gravel as he led me behind Erudite headquarters. We reached a mostly-hidden door in the side of the building, which he knocked on in the pattern that I used the first time we talked.

Courtney opened the door with a gun pointed at us, before seeing that it was us. "Cody, Dawn. Come in." She beckoned.

"I put Courtney on guard duty. Good choice, huh?" he asked rhetorically. I agreed. She could definitely be intimidating when she wanted to be.

When my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I noticed just how many "others" there were. It looked like there were about twenty to twenty-five other Erudite in the room, which was quite large, and there were all ages—even children—represented here. They all stood up when Cody came in. I could not see any faces clear enough to identify them, but I could see silhouettes belonging to B and Cameron.

He addressed to all of them. "As you know, the Dauntless have begun the attack on Abnegation. I have gathered an Erudite-resistance team—you. You are all either Divergent, or are willing to fight against the faction of your choice and/or birth, as some of you have not chosen yet. You may be wondering why there are only twenty-four of you, twenty-five including myself. I answer: you were the only ones that I had already known would fight for this. I had no time to ask others—and it would have been too large a risk." The others nodded in assent.

"The Dauntless army has most likely reached the Abnegation by now, which means that I must keep this short. We will be splitting off in groups to either weed out the Divergent in the army or to try to stop the simulation. There will be some Divergent and Erudite-born in each group. Will the Divergent please stand?"

I, along with Courtney, B, and three others stood. One was an older man with a tattoo—he must have transferred from Dauntless—that was about my father's age.

"Thank you. Three will go with each group. Will any Erudite-born please stand?" Cody asked.

I counted fourteen people that were Erudite-born. "Alright. Seven Erudite-born with each group. The remaining five of us will be randomly grouped, with the simulation group having an extra member. First group: Dave, Sammy, Adam, Chet, Spencer, Monica, Noah, B, Dawn, Amy, John, Annabeth, and I will be in the simulation group. The rest are with Courtney in the combat group. She will explain the plan to you."

So Noah was with us, as was his brother.

Cody turned to us. "Chet, do you know where the army could be controlled from?" he asked the older man from Dauntless in our group.

"The control room. I've seen it, and it could suffice for this kind of situation." Chet said.

I frowned. Something seemed wrong about this—everyone was unquestioningly following two sixteen-year-olds' orders. Was I just being paranoid?

"And you know where that is?" Cody asked. The man nodded stiffly.

"Alright. Let's go!" Cody said. "Courtney, is your group briefed?"

"Yes, now let's not waste any more time!" she replied.

We crept out of the room and back into daylight. "We split when we see the army, but stay in pairs at all times, except for one person in each group." I would stay with B. "I must warn you, this will be dangerous, and it is unlikely that we will all survive, but we can do this."

Courtney began speaking. "Group Two, when we are most likely finished, we will get on a train to the Amity sector of the city, and Group One will follow when they are done. Move out!"

oOoOo

I could tell that we were nearing the army and the Abnegation sector because the sound of gunfire was coming closer. I cringed at each blast, knowing that another Abnegation had been shot.

We could now see the army of black clothing and synchronized marching. Cody gave the signal to split up and our group started to move towards the Dauntless sector, making sure to keep out of sight of the army. I thought about Zoey, Mike, and Gwen, and if they were being controlled or not. I had a feeling that Mike was not, considering what I had seen of him.

Eerily, what little I could see of the Dauntless members' individual auras was identical to each other aura. The serum must take control of everything. Every so often, though I caught a glimpse of color—they must not have been under the serum, or they were Divergent. I wanted to help them but I couldn't leave the group. Surely Courtney's group would take care of them.

"We need to get to Dauntless Headquarters!" I heard Chet loudly whisper, so he didn't call attention to himself and the rest of us. "I can find the control room once we get there."

Cody nodded. "You will lead the way, right?"

"Yes. I know the quickest route, but it could be dangerous. I don't believe that the army will only attack Abnegation." He led us to the building, thankfully without much trouble, though once there, we encountered a dilemma: the interior was going to be heavily guarded, and we were unarmed.

"Why did we not bring weapons? Did you expect us to take down security with our bare-hands?" Noah asked Cody angrily.

"The Erudite don't have many weapons, and how would I be able to get them anyway?" Cody retorted. "Chet, please tell me you have an idea."

"The guards have weapons, and if I can take one down we can have guns. Is anyone not willing to kill?" he asked the group. I raised my hand, along with B, Sammy, and Adam. He observed us, then said, "Okay, but stick with someone who will protect you."

"D-does this mean we're splitting up?" Sammy asked. Her and her twin Amy were a year older than us.

"Yes. It will be more efficient and safer for the whole group that way. We can be in groups of three, with one of four." He instructed us as we grouped ourselves. Sammy, Amy, and John were one group, with Dave, Noah, and Annabeth as another. The last group of three was myself, B, and Cody, with the four group consisting of Adam, Monica, Spencer, and Chet.

Cody said that each group should take a different route to the control room. Chet went in first, silently sneaking in. I knew what he was going to do as he crept up on one of the two guards patrolling the entrance—undoubtedly there were more on the other floors—and I looked away. B knew too, and he wrapped his arms around me for comfort. I covered my ears and heard a muffled snapping sound that made me want to throw up.

I looked back in time to see the guard, whose head was bent at an unnatural angle, crumple to the ground before Chet slipped the gun from his pocket. I then realized that I was indeed fighting back the urge to throw up. We never had violence in Amity.

Chet looked back at us and motioned quickly for us to cover our ears. He was going to shoot the other guard.

Even with my ears covered, they still rung after the shot. Another guard ran into the room and was shot.

"Grab their guns! At least one person in each group should have a gun!" He shouted. Cody and Amy got one, and Chet gave his to Dave, saying that he "could just get another one." "Now split up! Go!" he yelled.

Cody took the lead in our group of three. "Dawn, I want us to be the first ones to find the control room." He revealed once we split up.

"Why would it matter?" I asked, confused.

"Because, you are the only person with 'Triple Divergence,' as I call it, that I know. It could be valuable." He said. "Cover!" he yelled as he aimed his gun at a guard that was running towards us, gun held to shoot. Cody shot first, and I saw a burst of red as the guard fell to the ground. I couldn't help it—I vomited there on the floor.

"We need to work on that." I heard Cody say under his breath as he watched me. "We need to keep going. Dawn, I know you don't like violence, but I will be straight with you: people will die before this mission is over. Hopefully most will be guards, but some may be our friends. At least we know that Group Two is rescuing the Divergent, which will be extremely helpful if we succeed."

"But, Cody, I don't want to kill anyone."

"But you may have to defend yourself or others."

"It's still killing, Cody." I stated.

"You'll understand when it comes down to it." He huffed. "You didn't have Abnegation for a result, did you?"

"No…"

"That makes sense." He said.

"Are you saying that I'm not selfless?" I snapped.

"No, just that you are more Amity than Abnegation, for sure."

"Oh," was all that I could manage. What did he mean that I would understand?

"Let's move. They probably have cameras all over."

"I guess it's good that we split up, then." I said.

He nodded in assent, and we kept going.


End file.
